Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 175

“Cancer engenders immediate fear. I think that deep in our...

“Cancer engenders immediate fear. I think that deep in our soul, we don’t want to admit to the possibility that we might have it too. So when someone else gets cancer, we turn that person into an ‘other.’ If that person is ‘other than us,’ then maybe it won’t happen to us. For the past thirty years, I’ve done everything I can to keep children from feeling like an ‘other.’ Yes, this child has cancer. But this child is a normal kid. Alongside their illness, they are dealing with demons that the average adult has never faced. So not only must we heal them, we must also never let them feel ‘less good’ or ‘less worthwhile.’ Because if we disrupt their ability to relate to the world, then the cancer will define the rest of their life.”

“Twelve thousand kids per year get cancer in the United...

“Twelve thousand kids per year get cancer in the United States. But the extraordinary thing isn’t that cancer happens. The extraordinary thing is that cancer doesn’t happen more often. Every human life begins with a single cell. Trillions of cells will form from that single cell. During this process, the DNA will rearrange itself hundreds of times to form all different types of cells: muscle, nerve, bone, blood, connective tissue. If you look at these cells under a microscope, each one has special properties. They all have codes that tell them exactly what to do and exactly when to stop doing it. The complexity of this is extraordinary. There are numerous fail-safes at every level to prevent mistakes. How is it possible that it ever works correctly? There are trillions of chances for something to go wrong. God, it’s unbelievable. The longer I study cancer, the more I’m in awe of the healthy child.”

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Thanks to the 27,000 people who donated, last night we reached our goal of $1,000,000 to help Dr. O’Reilly and his team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center fight pediatric cancer. (A special thanks to the anonymous $14,000 donor who put us over the top in dramatic fashion.) We’ll try to add to that total in the remaining few days to make the largest impact possible. Thanks to everyone who’s engaged with this series. I have received so many notes from the patients and doctors interviewed. They have been so moved and encouraged by your comments. I assure you that every single comment is being read. I know that many of the patient stories have been extremely difficult to read, so thanks to all of you who have helped bear the weight of these stories. Cancer is extremely isolating and there is great value in every type of human connection. So thank you. Anyone still wishing to contribute to our fundraiser can do so here: http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

“We’re doing fine. We see a lot of psychologists in the...

“We’re doing fine. We see a lot of psychologists in the hospital. They ask a lot of questions. They’re looking for problems. They think we’re hiding something from them. It’s a nice conversation but there’s nothing to find. Maybe it’s because we’re simple minds and we don’t think too deeply about things. We’re treating this like a normal event. A lot of people have it worse than us. We have access to the best care in the world. Our only problem is boredom. We should be thankful. The cancer is gone now. If it comes back, it comes back. But why worry about something that hasn’t happened yet?”

“It’s been twelve hours a day, six days a week, for the last...

“It’s been twelve hours a day, six days a week, for the last thirty years. My goal during all these years was to help all I could help. I’ve given 200%. I’ve given transplants to over 1200 kids. I’ve published as many papers as I could. I’ve contributed to some major achievements here. I feel happy because I’ve done my part. But now I’m almost finished. It’s time for the young people out there to finish the job. They’re going to be smarter than us. They’ll know more. They’re going to unzip the DNA and find the typo. They’re going to invent targeted therapies so we don’t have to use all this radiation. Me? My goal for the remainder of my life is to not be useful. I want to learn Portuguese. I want to play the guitar. I want to eat, drink, and enjoy the company of my friends. I recognize these are selfish things. But at some point we must treat ourselves as well.”

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We’re about 93% of the way toward our goal of $1,000,000 to help the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in their fight against pediatric cancer. Our donations will go toward the development of specialized treatments to give kids with rare tumors a chance at life. Thanks so much to everyone who’s donated so far. Even if it’s a small amount, please consider contributing:http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

“The caretakers play a crucial role, but there’s no way to...

“The caretakers play a crucial role, but there’s no way to predict how a parent will react to this. Sometimes they are the best helpers. They come in wanting to win. They say, ‘We’re going to beat the crap out of this thing.’ And that positive attitude flows down to the child. ‘I can’ becomes ‘we can.’ But sometimes the parents give up before treatment begins. You see it in their eyes. The battle is lost before we start. They say ‘I can’t,’ and that becomes ‘we can’t.’ The child becomes defeated and that hurts us. Because the child is the captain of this team and we need our captain to be strong. But I’m not judging these parents. They are experiencing the toughest thing a human can go through. On a scale of zero to death, this experience is right next to death. So it’s not fair to judge a person’s response. And there’s very little we can do about it. It’s almost impossible to change someone’s attitude. Because there’s never one reason that a person feels defeated. There are twenty or thirty reasons. People bring their entire lives with them into this hospital. We can provide encouragement. We can say, ‘Things will get better soon.’ But we can’t change someone’s entire life.”

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We’re almost 90% of the way toward our goal of $1,000,000 to help the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in their fight against pediatric cancer. MSK handles some of the toughest cases of childhood cancer, and our donations will go toward the development of specialized treatments to give these kids a chance. Thanks so much to everyone who’s donated so far. Even if it’s a small amount, please consider contributing: http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

(7/7) “I’ve thought about what I would say if I could go back...

(7/7) “I’ve thought about what I would say if I could go back in time, and talk to myself before I got cancer. I’d say get ready to not be who you are right now. And get ready to deal with a lot of disappointments and pain. And just keep strong. And never give up. And don’t lock yourself in your room if you get sad or angry. Because nobody can help you if you’re in your room and the problem will get worse. And stop fighting with your brothers and sisters. Because you’re really going to need them soon and they are going to help you so much. And keep watching sports. Because those are really going to cheer you up.”

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We’re just $200,000 away from our goal of $1,000,000 to help the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in their fight against pediatric cancer. MSK helped save Avi’s life along with thousands of other children, and we’re trying to help empower them to save even more. We’re almost there. Please help push us over the top:http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

(6/7) “Whenever I saw my parents sad, it always made me a...

(6/7) “Whenever I saw my parents sad, it always made me a little more nervous. Like when I asked my mom how long it would be until I could eat again. And I said: ‘Ten years?’ And she shook her head and said, ‘Not that long.’ Then I said, ‘Five years?’ And she started crying. I do feel sorry for them. They are the best parents in the world and it’s very hard for them. You know, me not being quite who I used to be. I don’t have my full voice back. I haven’t done much physical activity in the last two years. They were always very proud of me. I think they’re still proud of me now but for different reasons. A lot of adults tell me that I’m more mature than a lot of eighteen year olds. Because I know that life isn’t just happy times, and now I know how to handle it.”
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As we learn these stories, we’re trying to raise $1,000,000 to help the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in their fight against pediatric cancer. They’ve helped save Avi’s life along with thousands of other children, and we’re trying to help empower them to save even more. We’re almost at our goal. Thanks to the 20,000 people who have donated so far. If a few thousand more people donate, we’ll get there. Even if it’s a small amount, please consider being counted: http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

(5/7) “This is our last day of treatment.”...

(5/7) “This is our last day of treatment.”

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As we learn these stories, we are trying to raise $1,000,000 to help the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in their fight against pediatric cancer. They’ve helped save Avi’s life along with thousands of other children, and we’re trying to help empower them to save even more. We’re almost at our goal. Thanks to the 20,000 people who have donated so far. If you haven’t already, please consider being counted: http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

(4/7) “Mark is such a good man. He’s the most dedicated father...

(4/7) “Mark is such a good man. He’s the most dedicated father and husband you can imagine. He never spends money on himself. He never thinks of himself. He only cares about what the family needs. He helped start an organization that raises money for widows. He worked so hard on it. He went from synagogue to synagogue, asking for money. Yet he still thinks that all of this is his fault. He thinks that I’m pretty much perfect, and Avi is pretty much perfect, so it must be his fault. He couldn’t sleep for months after the diagnosis. He would be up for all hours. He spoke to so many rabbis and mental health professionals. He gave away all his possessions. He’d always tell me: ‘I know I’ve done something wrong. We’re being punished for something I did. And I don’t know what it is. But I’m so, so sorry.’

(3/7) “I can’t tell you why this happened to my son. He was so...

(3/7) “I can’t tell you why this happened to my son. He was so healthy. He was at the top of his class. He was a great athlete. I used to watch him play sports and think: ‘I can’t believe this is my son!’ And he was so nice to the other children. Other parents would send us letters and gifts because Avi was so kind. He’s just so good. But they all are. You look around this place, and you don’t see any serial killers. These are all good people. These are not the people screaming at their kids in Target. One day during chemo, when his hair started to fall out, Avi turned to me and said: ‘I think I know why this is happening. I made fun of somebody at school one time.’ And that just broke my heart. I can’t describe what it felt like to watch him suffer. It was torture. I used to lay with him in bed at night and wish so bad that it could be me instead. I’d do anything to switch places with him. One night when he was really hurting, he told me: ‘You can’t understand what I’m going through, Dad.’ And I told him, ‘Trust me Avi. I can.’”