May Is Brain Tumor Awareness Month
Did you know brain cancer is now the #1 cancer killer of children? Still, less than 1% of federal cancer research funding goes to pediatric brain cancer research. We believe kids deserve more.
May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month (#GoGray), and September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (#GoGold). But we believe children fighting brain cancer should be recognized all year long, and we invite our supporters to #GoGoldAndGrayEveryDay.
In partnership with pediatric brain tumor families and supporters across the country, the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation and our Family Partners are taking a stand to save the lives of kids battling brain cancer. By coordinating efforts, we amplify our voices to increase awareness and critical research funding for all pediatric brain tumors.
Go Gold And Gray Every Day
It’s an easy way for everyone to show their support for kids fighting DIPG and all brain tumors. It’s a way to raise awareness that we need to get tough to #DefeatDIPG by looking and fighting for a cure #EveryDay. Brain tumors are the leading cause of death by disease for kids in the United States. DIPG accounts for 10% of all pediatric brain tumors but nearly 50% of all pediatric brain cancer deaths. DIPG most commonly affects kids between the ages of 5-9 years old, has a typical survival time of 9 months from diagnosis, and an overall survival rate of nearly 0%.
Take Action! Ways to Help:
- Follow ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation on social media and share!
- Use a #GoGoldAndGrayEveryDay profile frame on Facebook (simply search “ChadTough”). Take it one step further and make your profile photo grayscale, too!
- Grab some merchandise featuring our new logo!
- Register for our Virtual Superhero 6K or Tee’d Off Women’s Golf Outing (Ann Arbor).
- Ask your social network if they are #ToughEnough to go gray in May.
DIPG Awareness Day
Over the past 5 years, more than 30 states and the U.S. Senate have recognized May 17 as DIPG Awareness Day.
The nationwide advocacy effort began after Governor Larry Hogan established Maryland’s first-ever DIPG Awareness Day on May 17, 2016, through the work of Michael Mosier Defeat DIPG Foundation, which recently united with The ChadTough Foundation to create the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation. The date was selected because it fell on the anniversary of the passing of 6-year-old Michael Mosier from Bethesda, Maryland, and was within brain tumor awareness month.
Michael’s parents, ChadTough Defeat DIPG Co-Founders Jenny and Mark Mosier, created the “DIPG Across the Map Initiative” to coordinate families and foundations across the country to elevate awareness of this devastating childhood cancer by banding together to establish May 17 as a unified DIPG Awareness Day nationwide. The widespread adoption of DIPG Awareness Day is the result of a collaborative work of many advocates and organizations, including Michigan, thanks to the efforts of the Ruddy Family, a ChadTough Defeat DIPG Family Partner, and the DIPG Advocacy Group that has led the federal-level effort.
Awareness alone will not bring an end to DIPG, but it is an important step in educating the public on the need for focused research efforts to find a cure. The foundation is proud to work with so many partners to continue to expand DIPG Awareness Day recognition.
