Optimist Childhood Cancer Walk

The 5 km Golden Walk
June 2007
Port Franks, ON

Music playing is Dire Straits " Walk of Life"


Hmm!  Look at the size of that chew stick!

Okay Boofers, give me a break!

Hi Molly.  Are you ready to walk?

Walkers come from 60 miles away

Hey, you guys this is a walk
NOT a "Sniff Fest"

Never mind the tennis balls....you're here to walk

And off we go!

Oh yes water, a refreshing break!


And we still keep on truckin for the Children

Oh Sir,   May I have a drink?


But officer I do have a dog tag! 
No he's not arresting us,
He's our “Fire Chief” with 3 Goldie's of his own walking


Some of us older one prefer to ride in air conditioning part way for a break

Look who's carrying the whoop bags!

We all stop off to hand in our pledges

Then the Ladies of the Optimist Club give us a rewarding ice cold drink


After all that we can hardly keep our eyes open for this shot.
Please come back and join us for next year's walk for Childhood Cancer
And thank you Walkers for your support
The Children Thank You as well!
FYI
Progress through research
In the 1950s, the overall cure rate for childhood cancer was in the area of 10%. Today, although cure rates vary among the various cancer types, the overall cure rate is in excess of 70%. The number one key to this incredibly successful campaign to remove the threat and fear once associated with childhood cancer is research. Medical and psychosocial research in all their forms, including clinical trials, have made deep inroads into progressive new forms of treatment for children with cancer. If we extend the current trend and rate of progress into even the near future, one can understand the optimism that we are close to the day when all children will be cured of their cancer and will go on to live full, productive lives. Pediatric cancer research has also paid dividends in:
* Advancing our understanding of the basic biology of cancer;
* Treating adults with cancer; and
* Providing principles of therapy and advances for other diseases of children and adults.
As examples: * Chemotherapy was first used to treat childhood cancer, before it was used on adults;
* The discovery of the first tumour suppressor gene occurred in children with cancer; and
* The principle of multi-modal therapy (multiple approaches applied in a systematic way) was pioneered in childhood cancer.
* Some specific advances made by the childhood cancer research community in just the last 10 years, and with the support of the  * * Childhood Cancer Foundation Candlelighters Canada, include: A decrease in childhood cancer mortality by 25%;
* Improved survival of acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 70% to 80%;
* Improved survival of acute non-lymphopblastic leukemia from 35% to 50%;
* Improved survival of the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from 70% to 90%;
* Improved survival of widespread childhood neuroblastoma from 10% to 45%;
* Reduced by 50% or more the need for radiation therapy for the following groups of patients, thereby reducing risks of long-term          effects of radiotherapy:
   acute lymphoblastic leukemia
   Infants under three years of age with brain tumours
   adolescent females with Hodgkin's disease.
* Shortened the treatment time for the most common from of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma , Hodgkin's disease, and all forms of * childhood acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia by 30%- 50%;
* Developed significantly strengthened recommendations for long-term follow-up care for all cancers of children and adolescents; and
* Established the first broad effort to develop and evaluate treatments for cancers common to adolescents and young adults, and demonstrated the superiority of pediatric treatment protocols over adult treatment protocols for a number of key young adult cancers.
 

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