Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Cancer Research UK and TX Maxx have launched their 2011-12 Little Star Awards to celebrate children across the UK who have been diagnosed with cancer and are battling it with true bravery and courage. As I’m sure you can guess, this is something very close to my heart and I’m really glad CRUK are recognising how brave and amazing these children are.

My vote would go to Georgie but I know for a fact that there are some fantastic children in the UK, fighting hard to beat cancer and my heart goes out to them all.

If you know of a child battling cancer, living in the UK and under the age of 18, and you would like to nominate them then please click on the link below and fill in the online form.

https://survey.cancerresearchuk.org/Survey.aspx?s=dce8825112d042a4ba393d3e0fdd0684

All the children nominated will get a Little Star trophy, a t-shirt, a bear and a certificate. The first 300 nominees will also receive a £50 TK Maxx voucher.

Everyday around four children are diagnosed with cancer. From personal experience I can tell you that it is a heartbreaking and gruelling experience for all involved. We lost our Georgie but lots of children manage to beat cancer, more then ever before. CRUK is a major funder of research into childhood cancers; in 2010 they spent almost £9 million pounds on research. That money was used to support doctors and scientists who are trying to find out what causes cancer in children and trying to find ways to ensure faster diagnosis and better treatments.

CRUK’s research has played a part in transforming survival rates for children suffering from cancer. In the 1960’s only about a quarter of children diagnosed with cancer would survive. Today, the figures have reversed and around three quarters of children survive cancer.

Professor Nazeen Rahman is leading a team at the Institute of Cancer Research and trying to find out genes make children more likely to develop cancer. This is a huge thing for me and my family as it turned out Georgie had a gene that meant he was more susceptible to cancer. For years we were told it was an unfortunate coincidence that he developed cancer after losing his mum to the disease but we found out too late that it was in fact caused by a gene he has most likely inherited from her. Being tested as a two year old may have saved Georgie but we will never know. I’m very relieved to know that Professor Rahman and his team are working hard to use genetic information to help other children. To read more about Professor Rahman’s amazing work, please follow the link to my Uncle’s site and read about it. It’s really interesting, and important, information. http://www.anticancer.org.uk/2011/06/tp53-and-li-fraumeni-syndrome.html#more

CRUK have also funded plenty of successful clinic trials into treating childhood cancer. They have a special Children’s Cancer Trials Team situated in Birmingham which is the only one in the UK. IT works hard to coordinate groundbreaking trials across the UK and Ireland. These trials allow innovative and amazing new treatments available giving children with cancer the change to benefit from the latest discoveries and treatments that the medical world has to offer.

Children with cancer are incredibly brave warriors and if you do know a child with cancer, please nominate them for a Little Stars award, they deserve to be recognised for fighting against the disease and they deserve to know that so many of us are rooting for them to survive. I think every person battling the disease is a Little Star and I look forward to hearing the stories of all the worthy winners. x