September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and New Hyde Park is shining bright gold and planting a new tree to turn people’s attention to the disease.
“We want these trees to stand tall and send a message to everybody who’s going through the scourge of pediatric cancer, the families, and most especially the kids,” said New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane. “The trees are lit gold because children are our most prized treasure in our society. We have to raise this money. We have to find a cure.”
About two dozen people, most friends and family of those impacted by pediatric cancer and the village board attended the Thursday, Sept. 4 tree lighting.
The village ran the event with the Mary Ruchalski Foundation and the Katie McBride Foundation, both charities started by parents and named after local children who died from complex pediatric cancer in their tweens.
“The fact that so many kids are afflicted, especially on Long Island, is awful,” said Jeanne McBride, Katie’s mother. “The statistics are crazy. On Long Island this year alone, we have four children with brain cancer. It’s horrible.”
Roughly one in every 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20 and many treatment options are still the same from those used in the 1960s, according to the Ruchalski Foundation.
McBride said it meant a lot to her that the village took the time and effort to light trees in front of the village hall and sell golden bows to people to place on their homes to raise awareness about pediatric cancer, particularly in light of decreased federal funding and the lack of general knowledge on where treatment development stands and how significant of an issue the disease is.
Michael McBride, Katie’s brother and a member of the foundation, said progress has been made in part due to funding from foundations like theirs and the Ruchalskis’.
“According to the American Cancer Society, about 10,000 children under the age of 14 in the United States alone will be diagnosed with cancer this year,” he said. “Of those children diagnosed with cancer, 85% will survive at least five years, which is a positive that is a stark contrast from only 58% in 1975.”
All proceeds from the sale of bows through September go toward funding pediatric cancer research and generally support the Katie McBride Foundation’s goal of paying for family support and children’s cancer treatment across the island and tristate area.
McBride said the Katie McBride Foundation is currently supporting six people, including some from New Hyde Park and Williston Park. She said her foundation primarily focuses on supporting treatment costs, while the Ruchalski Foundation primarily funds treatment research.
The Ruchalski Foundation has raised over $1 million for childhood cancer research and treatment and the McBride Foundation has donated over $425,000 to families of children with cancer and $225,000 to the Ronald McDonald House since they launched over a decade ago.
Devane and State Assembly Member Ed Ra both said they commended the two foundations for turning their tragedies into a way to support others.
“Thank you for having the strength to take what is happening to you personally to help others carry on,” Ra said. “Let’s use this month as an opportunity to spread awareness about pediatric cancer and make sure that we continue to raise funds and raise awareness…so that more families can have the treatment they need.”
Donations to the Katie McBride Foundation and Mary Ruchalski Foundation can be made on their websites.
