“We’re Not in Competition, We’re in Cooperation

Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery

“Tell them to bring out the big guns because I’m not going down without a fight.”

~Lane Goodwin

“March 4, 2010 @ 10yrs old Lane was Dx with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma stage IV. He relapsed July 22, 2011 & May 8, 2012.”

This courageous young man has been on my mind, and he is so much in my heart.

When we boil the Childhood Cancer World down to its very essence, this is the nucleus– the reason why we do what we do. The children. Lane.

Pastor Rob at Church for Life begins each Sunday morning by asking the congregation to pray for others throughout the city, including other churches. He continues by saying, “We are not in competition, we aaaaaaaaaaaaaaare…”

Everyone replies, “… in cooperation.”

I see how this can apply to all of the childhood cancer organizations. We are all on the same team. A victory for one organization is a victory for all—because our end goal is the same—ending the suffering of children with cancer. We need to lift up and support each other. We need to act out of love for the children, and not out of pride for building the “biggest and best” organization.

We need to all be In Cooperation… for the kids.

Acting in cooperation, we can raise the funds we desperately need for research that will develop less toxic treatments for children with cancer.

Quotes from the World of Childhood Cancer

“I remember once in the hospital when ( ) was 3, she wet the bed from all the IV fluid she was getting. Within seconds, nurses came running in all with gowns, gloves etc…all panic….saying we should not touch it….asking me to wash ( ) down (which she hated)…..and all I could think was we are pouring this awful chemo in to her veins but we can’t touch her pee.”

“Some parents held their children today for the last time as their life slipped away. Some parents are rubbing their children’s backs as they vomit up the only french fry they ate today because they are being given toxic poison to try to save their lives. Some parents are living in fear that the cancer could return tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. Some parents are watching their child play and smile, while they are holding back their tears knowing their is a monster growing inside of them trying to take their spirit away.”