Help Fight Childhood Cancer with Aflac #Duckprints & {$50 Restaurant.com Gift Card #Giveaway}

“This giveaway was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Aflac. I was compensated to participate in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine.”

Everyone’s life has been impacted by cancer in some form.  Maybe it has been your own battle with cancer, or you have supported a close family member or friend in their battle.  I personally have had good friends struggle through treatments and surgeries.  I am inspired by their courage and how fierce they are as they and their family’s fight against cancer.  Cancer is an ugly disease and does not show mercy regardless of how old or young you may be. Childhood cancer makes me especially emotional.

ABOUT CHILDHOOD CANCER:

• According to the National Cancer Institute, the five-year survival rates for all childhood cancers combined increased from 58.1 percent in 1977 to 79.6 percent in 2003.
• In 2007, approximately 10,400 children age 15 or younger were diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Cancer remains the leading cause of death by illness in the U.S. for people age 15 or younger.
• Aflac Duckprints is committed in its mission to eradicate childhood cancer. Thanks to donations made to the research and treatment of this disease, 75 percent of childhood cancers can now be cured.

Aflac has goal from May 1st thorough Mother’s Day, May 11th to raise awareness and donations to aid in the fight against childhood cancer using the hashtag: #Duckprints. The ultimate mission of Duckprints is to eradicate childhood cancer.

You can help Aflac raise awareness and fight childhood cancer!  Aflac will donate $2 to the Aflac Cancer Center for every #Duckprints tweet/retweet on Twitter or post/share on Facebook. They need help to get the word out and spread #Duckprints!  You may already know that Aflac is the number one provider of supplemental insurance in the United States and that it is different from health insurance; it’s insurance for daily living.  Here are some facts about Aflac you might not know:

ABOUT THE AFLAC CENTER

• The Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is one of the largest childhood cancer centers in the country.
• The Aflac Cancer Center is committed to providing childhood cancer patients a brighter future through advanced medical treatment, family centered care, a child-friendly environment and innovative research.
• Aflac is proud to have donated more than $87 million to the Aflac Cancer Center, with the goal of reaching $100 million by the end of 2015.

Trisha Henry Gaffney is an inspiring woman, a cancer survivor, and a mom.  I was so touched reading her story about how the Aflac Cancer Center helped her life.

In 1996, she was just 19 years old when she was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive tumor usually found in the head, neck, hands or feet of young children.  Trisha’s was the first reported case to occur in the right ureter, the tube connecting the kidney and bladder.

Trisha spent a year at the Aflac Cancer Center undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.  After going through surgery to remove her right kidney, ureter and a portion of her bladder, Trisha spent a year at the Aflac Cancer Center undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.  Following her treatment for this rare form of cancer, Trisha Henry Gaffney was eager to put her health problems behind her.  The last thing she wanted to do was dwell on the effects of her illness.

Tricia went to school in 1997 at the University of Illinois as an excellent student and scholarship swimmer.  Trisha had a large group of friends and met her husband, Andrew Gaffney who was also a swimmer while going to school.

In 1998 a friend encouraged Trisha to visit the Cancer Survivor Program at the Aflac Cancer Center. The Aflac Cancer Center provides specialized, long-term follow-up care and helps identify and treat problems associated with the effects of cancer treatment to help survivors lead a full life, including school, work and a family of their own. However, the idea of going to even more doctors didn’t sit well with Trisha.

Tricia went to doctors for several years for check ups and finally made an appointment with the Cancer Survivor Program at the Aflac Cancer Center.  During her first appointment she received her health records and received devastating news about the late effects of her cancer treatments.

Chemotherapy and 23 radiation treatments had damaged her uterus, and only one ovary was functional.  She was approaching early menopause and she would not be able to carry a child.

Tricia bravely would not let cancer get in her way of being a mother.  Tricia literally said “Screw you!” to cancer and she froze her eggs.  Her sister’s best friend offered to be a surrogate for Tricia and her husband.

Tricia and Andrew are now proud parents to Isabella who was born in April 2013. Isabella just celebrated her first birthday, and this Mother’s Day will mark Trisha’s second, thanks to the Aflac Cancer Center and its programs.

Tricia recognizes the impact of the Aflac Cancer Center. Without the intervention of doctors and nurses in her health, her life would be incredibly different and she would not have her daughter.

Armed with the knowledge about her medications, treatments and the
potential challenges ahead, Trisha is empowered to be an advocate for her own health. She knows it is survivorship that defines her ‒ not cancer.

She encourages survivors to take advantage of the resources available through the Aflac Cancer Center so they can become healthy, happy adults ‒ and parents if they choose.

Aflac wants to help others just like Tricia fight cancer and bring awareness about childhood cancer.  YOU CAN HELP!!