September is childhood cancer awareness month, and the Township of Muskoka Lakes is doing their part to raise awareness.
The township raised the Childhood Cancer Awareness flag yesterday (Aug. 29) outside the office.
According to officials, Mayor Kelley and councillor Zavitz were present alongside representatives from the organization.
Candlelighters Simcoe is a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization that provides support services to families impacted by childhood cancer in Simcoe County and the surrounding area.
Cheryl Gotthelf, parent liaison for the organization, says having the town’s support is important as It’s up to adults in the communities to raise awareness.
“It’s important for communities to do more and to realize how much disruption happens with families,” says Gothelf. “Siblings get left at home. Sometimes other kids are shuffled off to family members or friends.”
Crystal Neal, who lost her son to the disease in May and was at the flag-raising, says everyone knows about the disease, but no one ever imagines it could happen to someone close to them.
“Cancer doesn’t seem to discriminate on age or care how much you want to get rid of it,” shares Neal.
She adds she and her family tried to keep everything as normal as possible to avoid him feeling overwhelmed.
“He went up and down emotionally,” says Neal. “It was long for him. Mentally, he was very depressed.”
She said she had a “Team Elliot 31” sign during the flag-raising event.
“31 is a big deal. That was his hockey number, and he completed 31 rounds of radiation.”
Neal encourages any family dealing with the disease to reach out.
“There’s a lot of people out there that are going through similar things,” says Neal. “It is always good to reach out to somebody who has been through or is going through it.
According to the government, cancer is the leading cause of death from disease in children and adolescents in Canada.
Approximately 10,000 children are living with cancer in this country, and 1,500 more are diagnosed every year.
