Family walking from DL to WDW to honor late daughter

RandomPrincess

RandomPrincess

Keep Moving Forward
Original Poster
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/2...and-to-disney-world-in-honor-of-late-daughter

Jonathan Cobb and his wife Jennifer -- along with their 3 kids: Jonathan, Jenna and Jaxie have been walking across the country for the past 7 months.

The Houston family is doing this in honor of Julia Cobb, or 'Ju' as they call her, who lost her life to Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of Bone Cancer, at just 8 years old.

The Cobb's say Julia fought for a year and a half and even got a stem cell transplant that was nearly a success...but the Cancer came back.

"One of the Doctors said 'You know, Julia never got a Make-A-Wish trip and I said 'no' and he said 'Well that's not okay. Let's send her on her Make-A-Wish.' So we ended up going to Walt Disney World in Orlando and we had the best week of our lives," Jennifer said.

At the end of the Cobb's 7 day trip to Disney World, Julia woke up with a high fever. Instead of going to the airport, they went to the hospital. Julia passed on within 24 hours.

"We then formulated a plan that we feel was God-inspired to walk across America with Ju's 'CAN' message and just inspire other people, raise awareness for very underfunded pediatric Cancer that only gets 4% of money raised in this country," Jennifer said.

In Julia's honor, the Cobb's started walking at Disneyland in Anaheim, California last August. Their final destination is Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

If you'd like to learn more about them and how to help, visit www.jucanfoundation.org

More in article
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
The poor kid. That just breaks my heart.

You gotta wonder where all the money raised for cancer research DOES go. I think I read somewhere that Pres. Nixon declared "war" on cancer, and that was what - back in 1971? And since then, how much closer are we to a cure for any form of the disease? It's astounding to me that so little progress has been made. Apparently even stem cell treatments aren't effective. Jeez.
 
S

Sudcaro- Sudcaro

Well-Known Member
This is a beautiful story, unfortunately their fight is a fight noone should have to go through but too many kids still die from cancer.

My little girl (4) is a two time cancer survivor, and we're going to WDW for her make a wish trip next month. Just a few days before a follow up CT and PET scan needed because her last scans showed a little something. A child who has had cancer is a child that will need health monitoring for all of his/ her life.
So although my child is doing fine, I can totally relate to this family and their past and current fights.
Pediatric cancer is getting the short end of the stick, and our kids are treated with adult medications and old protocols because nothing is done for them. Most of the research for pediatric cancer is founded by fundraisers, often initiated by families like Julia's. But it's still not enough :(
 
dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Magenta Panther said:
You gotta wonder where all the money raised for cancer research DOES go.
Click to expand...

Ever check out the stats on http://www.CharityNavigator.org? It's a bit of an eye opener. Susan G. Komen spends about 82.8% of its monies on it's "services" (research, programs, grants etc) while American Cancer Society only spends 59.4%. Take a look sometime, see how poorly groups spend your donations.
 
KIsAPrincess

KIsAPrincess

Active Member
dreamfinder said:
Ever check out the stats on http://www.CharityNavigator.org? It's a bit of an eye opener. Susan G. Komen spends about 82.8% of its monies on it's "services" (research, programs, grants etc) while American Cancer Society only spends 59.4%. Take a look sometime, see how poorly groups spend your donations.
Click to expand...

^^This right here. I used to work for the American Cancer Society for many years. You should always ask where your donation is going - AND if you want it to go to something specific, say Pediatric Cancer Research, make sure that you mark that in the subject line. The donation has to be used for that cause. If you just make a donation - it goes into the general fund.

Not for nothing, pediatric cancer is one of the most underfunded cancers out there right now. @Sudcaro- Sudcaro - sending positive vibes and wishes to you and your family.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Magenta Panther said:
The poor kid. That just breaks my heart.

You gotta wonder where all the money raised for cancer research DOES go. I think I read somewhere that Pres. Nixon declared "war" on cancer, and that was what - back in 1971? And since then, how much closer are we to a cure for any form of the disease? It's astounding to me that so little progress has been made. Apparently even stem cell treatments aren't effective. Jeez.
Click to expand...
To say that little progress has been made in the treatment of cancer is simply incorrect. We still have a long way to go in cracking the incredibly hard nut that is cancer, but we have come a long way in doing so.

In 1971 the diagnosis of any kind of cancer might as well have been a death sentence. More people are now surviving cancer than ever before and the numbers keep going up.

http://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-are-we-beating-cancer-20870
 
wdwjmp239

wdwjmp239

Well-Known Member
Oh man! I read that story and the waterworks just happened. I have a four year old daughter and three year old son. After reading the posts on here, I really have nothing to complain about. To the families who have to deal with pediatric cancer, my heart pours to all of you. It's true....don't take your kids' health for granted. Things can change on a moment's notice.

I'm not a religious person, but I'm definitely sending prayers to out those families. :cry:
 
HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
dreamfinder said:
Ever check out the stats on http://www.CharityNavigator.org? It's a bit of an eye opener. Susan G. Komen spends about 82.8% of its monies on it's "services" (research, programs, grants etc) while American Cancer Society only spends 59.4%. Take a look sometime, see how poorly groups spend your donations.
Click to expand...

And this is why I stopped doing the Susan G. Komen walk/run. My friend does an annual art auction and opted to have the $ go to the American Cancer Society just because more $ goes towards the cause.

As for this story, it just breaks my heart. We live in the Houston area, so it's been a fixture on our local news. Just chokes me up every time I see it.

@Sudcaro- Sudcaro I truly hope your BLP has an amazing trip. I thought of you the other week as a college friend of mine reached out to me about her son. Apparently, he's having his Make A Wish trip to WDW next week and she wanted some last minute suggestions from me. That alone had me in tears, but it made me thankful that people like you and her are able to get your kids' wishes granted.

Cancer S U C K S !!!
 

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