September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – a time to bring awareness to childhood cancer and to recognize the young lives impacted by the disease. While pediatric cancer is relatively rare and research has created cure rates upwards of 80%, pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States. There are over 15,000 new cases diagnosed each year and one in five of these children will not survive the disease.
During September, Hope On Wheels donated $10.5 million to 45 Children’s Oncology Group (COG) hospitals and institutions across the U.S. in support of continued medical research and programs that improve the quality of life for children with cancer. At the U.S. Capitol, Hope On Wheels was joined by members of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus and other elected officials, policymakers, Hyundai executives and dealers, to pay tribute to researchers, child cancer fighters and their families as part of its annual September program. Hope On Wheels 2015 Scholar Grant winners from institutions across the country were in attendance. Special recognition was be given to greater Washington, D.C. metro area hospitals that are receiving research grants this year including Children’s National Health System, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
