By Jeannie Smith | Chilton County Relay For Life

Saving lives and preventing suffering are central to the American Cancer Society’s mission for all adults and children facing cancer—at any age and any stage.

In 2015, an estimated 10,380 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed, and 1,250 deaths will occur among children aged birth to 14 years.

The American Cancer Society is pursuing a comprehensive approach to combatting childhood cancer through funding research and providing information and support for patients and their families.

ACS CAN is advocating for policies that advance the childhood cancer agenda and improve access to quality care. Through research, information and support, ACS is working to ensure more children with cancer survive and thrive!

•Approximately 1 in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before age 20.

•Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in children ages 1-14, exceeded only by accidents.

•Brain cancer is the most common cause of cancer death to children younger than 20 years of age.

•The five-year survival rate for childhood cancer has increased from 58 percent during the mid-1970s to 83 percent today.

•The death rate for childhood cancer had decreased 67 percent from 1970 to 2011 (6.3 per 100,000 to 2.1).

In recognition of Childhood Cancer Month in September, meet Kinlee Till, the 22-month-old daughter of Brandon and Jennifer Till of Clanton.

Kinlee was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in April. Kinlee is one of an estimated 710 cases of neuroblastoma to be diagnosed this year. It is the third most common childhood cancer and represents 7 percent of the total cases in the 0-to-14 years age group.

Neuroblastoma develops from certain types of very primitive nerve cells in the embryo and is the most common cancer diagnosed during the first year of life; it very uncommon after age 10.

Cancer doesn’t fight fair at any age, but perhaps no cancer is more emotionally devastating that those that occur in children. The fear and uncertainty these young patients and their families face can hardly be measured, but the Society is deeply committed to finding new answers that will benefit every child with cancer and their family.

Kinlee’s mom, Jennifer Till, shares Kinlee’s story:

“There are certain days in you life that you will never forget. One of those for me was the day we found out we were expecting our second child. We couldn’t contain the excitement that God was blessing us with another precious life.

“It seemed to be a pretty normal pregnancy with no complications until the day we went to find out if our baby was a boy or girl. As we all gathered around the ultrasound technician and waited, I remember asking if everything was OK. It seemed to be taking a really long time with her not saying much at all.

“A few minutes later, she just wrote “girl” across the screen, and I remember thinking that was odd. So after everybody left the room but me, she stopped me and said, ‘I just can’t let you go in there and the doctor drop a bomb on you. I saw something wrong with her spine.’

“Two days later we were sitting at UAB Maternal and Fetal Specialists. We were told that Kinlee’s spinal cord didn’t close during development and she would be born with a condition called spina bifida. She also had what was called a chiari malformation of the brain, and the ventricles in her brain were enlarged from fluid causing hydrocephalus.

“The day after she was born, a surgery was performed to close the hole in her spine. She had to lay flat on her stomach for five days. The day we had been waiting for finally arrived, and we could pick her up and love on her. But the joy didn’t last long before her back started leaking spinal fluid. After this incident, her head started swelling, and we could do nothing but wait to see if it would stop or if she would need another surgery.