There are so many WHYs to my involvement.  Pediatric cancers are a multi-faceted heart-shattering diagnosis.  Let's start with the obvious - they are KIDS - can you imagine holding your child's hand through that?  1 in 285, children will develop cancer before they are 20 years old.  Then there is the fact that 95% of childhood cancers survivors will have a significant health related issue by the time they are 45 because the treatments cause harm to children's bodies as they are still growing and developing, thus the treatment is more likely to affect their developing organs.  And kids living with cancer should live right? I mean I lived with breast cancer because of the extensive research that had been done in my type of breast cancer, I think everyone deserves that type of research, that type of HOPE.  Which brings me to my central WHY - Sebastian, Rosy, Oscar, Osci, Lucas, & my son Diego. All the above happened to them, and Sebs. Sebs lived with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.  His precious and beloved family & friends held his hand and walked through the horrific journey with him.  His treatment option at the time was more than 40 years old, and ultimately ineffective.  It's more than 50 years old now.  When he was only 16, they, we, had to say good-bye for now.  I literally cannot think of a more horrendous forever moment.  Disappointingly, only 4.08% of the National Cancer Institute's funding goes to childhood cancers.  I personally can't sit on the sidelines while that happens.  I pray and I invest and I act towards a day when treatments will be less toxic, more targeted.  A day when children living with cancer will live.  A day where there will be no more need for a hospital room.  A day Sebs was robbed of.  SebastianStrong is aiming to end that, this week with their kayaks.  We will paddle & stand with them.

Together we're funding innovative research for childhood cancers. SebastianStrong is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that funds discovery science to cure childhood cancers and supports families affected by this disease. It has received the highest level of recognition for transparency from GuideStar, the world’s largest source of information about nonprofit organizations. When you support SebastianStrong, you are helping to ensure that no family has to face childhood cancer alone. You are funding HOPE.