Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – Aiming for GOLD!

CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH – AIMING FOR GOLD!

The internationally recognised symbol of childhood cancer is the gold ribbon, which is why this September the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT) is aiming for gold! Here are just some of the ways you can get involved.

• Raise awareness in your local community: we have posters and leaflets which you can display in your workplace / local community to inform others of the signs and symptoms of retinoblastoma. Just get in touch at [email protected] and let us know how many awareness packs you would like.
• Hold a Crazy Glasses Day at your school or workplace. It’s a quick, easy and fun way to support CHECT and raise funds for babies, children and their families affected by retinoblastoma. We have even designed a special downloadable template for CCAM.
• Help spread the message on social media: we will be posting videos, stories and statistics during CCAM, so please like and share our content so that as many people see it as possible. Use the hashtag #CHECTgold
• You too can aim for gold! Show your support by using our Facebook profile frame throughout September. Search for “CHECT Childhood Cancer Awareness Month” in Facebook’s ‘add frame’ feature.
• Fancy a challenge? Why not get on your bike this September for Pedal4Cancer or the London to Paris cycle – there is still time to sign up!
• Or get it touch at [email protected] to tell us about the events you are organising / taking part in locally!

About retinoblastoma

One child a week in the UK is diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer found in children under the age of six.

It is a life-threatening disease, but in the UK 98% of children survive the disease. Although survival rates are good, many children and adults live with the consequences of a delayed diagnosis or the late effects of treatment received. Over half of children diagnosed with retinoblastoma lose an eye, and many more are left with reduced vision. Being affected by a rare childhood cancer also carries a huge emotional impact for everyone concerned.

This is why CHECT is marking Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM), to continue our important work across four areas:

• Raising awareness with parents and healthcare professionals to ensure that every child is diagnosed and receives treatment as soon as possible
• Providing one-to-one support to every family diagnosed with Rb in the UK, as well as to adult survivors
• Funding research into the prevention and treatment of retinoblastoma to produce real changes for those diagnosed
• Influencing policy to improve services for patients

Find out more about retinoblastoma

Whatever you end up doing, we hugely appreciate your support in helping CHECT to aim for gold this Childhood Cancer Awareness month. And remember, as always, we want to see your photos so we can share all the brilliant activities going on!