For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brecka Putnam, Regional Manager, Development
(630) 957-8003 | brecka.putnam@curesearch.org
Omaha, NE – When their daughter Grace diagnosed with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of children’s cancer, on October 23, 2014, the Jansen family didn’t know much about childhood cancer.
“We really didn’t know any children with cancer,” says mom Kelly. “We weren’t naïve in thinking one of our four children wouldn’t be affected, by it really never crossed our mind until it affected our family directly.”
After the first month of intensive treatment, Grace didn’t reach remission, as 95% of children with leukemia do. The family was told that Grace wouldn’t survive, based on the amount of cancer that remained in her body. It was devastating news.
Grace, the warrior.During the next six months, Grace would spend 80 says in the hospital between treatments and illnesses. Kelly and her husband often spent time apart, with one of them staying with Grace, and the other watching their three sons.
“The separation was agonizing and between my husband and I, and we felt as though we were failures at times because we were not able to give each of our children the undivided attention they needed. Getting Grace through treatment was our number one priority for 2 1/2 years, and we had to make numerous sacrifices as a family to ensure a healthy future for her.”
Thanks to additional chemotherapy that Grace received, which consisted of taking a pill every day, she was finally declared cancer-free February 17, 2017. Today, she is doing well, and is enjoying being a kid by going to school and hanging out with friends. She also loves playing basketball, volleyball, reading and doing crafts.
The Jansen family.Everyone in the Jansen family, including her three brothers, was inspired by Grace’s strength and determination to win the battle against cancer. That’s why they support the Superheroes Unite Omaha event, which will be held on June 3, 2017 at Village Pointe in Omaha, Nebraska. Sponsored by CureSearch, the event’s activities help children battling cancer feel like superheroes and pay tribute to those who lost their fight. Funds raised at the event support children’s cancer research and programs.
“We support Superheroes Unite! because we are passionate in finding a cure for children’s cancer. It is beyond devastating to hear the words, ‘your child has cancer,’ and we are hopeful one day research will lead to a cure!”
The entire community is invited to attend and celebrate children with cancer – true superheroes. Register at curesearchsuperheroes.org/Omaha.
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CureSearch for Children’s Cancer
CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, a national nonprofit organization based in Bethesda, Md, works to end childhood cancer by driving targeted and innovative research with measurable results in an accelerated time frame. CureSearch is building a $10 million research pipeline to aggressively drive pediatric research grants and clinical trials that have a higher chance of becoming cures for children’s cancer without the toxic side effects that plague current treatment options.
For more information, visit curesearch.org or www.curesearchsuperheroes.org, follow CureSearch on Twitter @curesearch or join the conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/curesearch.