Every three minutes, somewhere in the world, a family hears the devastating message that their child has been diagnosed with cancer. At this time of year, when parents and children should be excited about buying school supplies, meeting their new teachers and getting on the school bus, children with cancer are focused on different things – medications, doctors’ visits and surgeries.

Natalie Arnold knows all too well the agony of hearing that your child has cancer. At six months of age, her son, Blake, developed swelling in his left leg, and his entire leg quickly turned blue and flaccid. Natalie, an echo technician at Aultman, had a gut feeling that there may be a blood clot or a tumor pressing on his femoral artery, and a doctor’s visit confirmed the overwhelming news. Blake had developed an 11.2-centimeter mass and was diagnosed with an extrarenal rhabdoid tumor (ERRT). ERRT is a rare, aggressive, high-grade tumor, usually observed in infants and young children, and it affects the liver, central nervous system and heart.

Unfortunately, the survival rate for this type of cancer is extremely low. Blake had a hard battle to fight, and the outcome was bleak. He began treatment in August 2012, but sadly lost his battle to this devastating disease in November 2012, just a couple months shy of his first birthday.

Losing her son has changed Natalie and her family. She says, “Time passes, but not one day goes by that Blake is not here in our hearts. The day he died was not just a date on a calendar, it was the day when our very existence changed forever.”

She continued, “The month of September has changed for me. My son should be hopping on that school bus with his siblings, eager to start first grade; instead, I am firsthand living the effects of this deadly disease and attempting to raise awareness in my community. One child losing the fight to cancer is one too many.”

The month of September has been formally recognized as Childhood Cancer Awareness month since 2010, and it’s an opportunity to raise understanding about cancer in children. Research and rapidly developing technology have improved childhood cancer survival rates. However, our work doesn’t stop there. Many child survivors will endure chronic health conditions from the toxic side effects of treatment, secondary cancers and other life-threatening illnesses. Continued research will not only help create new treatments, it will help alleviate the after-effects of this devastating disease for survivors and their families.