CORNWALL, Ontario – Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy was on hand to help children who have been afflicted with cancer and their parents raise a flag in honour of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which begins Sept. 1.
The golden flag is a part of an effort to paint the town gold to help raise awareness. Cherly Tourangeau’s son Alex was diagnosed with and aggressive form of Leukemia in 2013. At the City Council Meeting on Aug. 8, Cherly made a presentation to council on why awareness on this issue is so important.
“There are 1, 400 kids every year who are diagnosed with pediatric cancer in Canada, that’s four a day,” she said. “The average survival rate is 80 percent. Alex’s chances are 85 percent survival, but there are some kids for whom the survival chance is zero percent. Four kids that were in Alex’s cancer summer camp last year are gone now. Pediatric cancers only receive 4 percent of cancer research funding,” she continued. “When a child dies of cancer, that is 71-years of contributions to society that are lost.”
Tourangeau is encouraging everyone in Cornwall to display a little gold to show their support.
“Something as simple as a gold ribbon can help draw attention to this issue,” she said. “I would like to encourage all city departments, businesses, and residents to “paint” Cornwall gold in September to visually show these children and their families our support and to bring awareness to childhood cancer,” Tourangeau wrote in her presentation.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Civic Complex will host the annual Mayor-Media and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Blood Donor Clinic.
“During the summer months, we all change our routines and take vacations, so donating blood isn’t always top of mind. Meanwhile, daily in our region, there are hospital patients who can’t take vacations requiring blood transfusions for surgeries, cancer treatments and other procedures,” notes Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy. “Each year, the Mayor-Media Blood Donor Clinic attracts a large turnout and helps meet hospital requirements for blood. I am hoping this year will be the same. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the media for their continuing support in sponsoring the clinic, which is a summer tradition in Cornwall.”
