KELOWNA, B.C. – A Kelowna mother who lost her son to cancer eight years ago is fighting for more research to battle childhood cancers.
Lori Fennessy said only four per cent of research funds are dedicated to the childhood strains of cancer, which she says is not good enough.
“Childhood cancer is more common than we think and it doesn’t discriminate,” Fennessy said.
Her son Connor died at the age of 17 on Aug 30, 2008 from a soft tissue cancer.
Fennessy successfully convinced the City of Kelowna and the Province of B.C. to have the month of September declared Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The Sails sculpture on Kelowna’s waterfront has been lit gold for the month, representing the gold ribbon campaign.
Fennessy said childhood cancers deserve more medical research.
“They’re kids!” said Fennessy at a small rally of family and friends at The Sails Thursday night. “These kids are dying. Their lives are never the same because they don’t have the same future. Even if they do survive, medically, they don’t have the same future.”
According to the Gold Ribbon Campaign website, “in contrast to many of the cancers affecting adults, the causes of cancer in childhood are largely unknown.”
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