Young Cancer Patients Express Gratitude Towards Valerie Fund
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - WCBS 880 has partnered with the Valerie Fund to support this Saturday's Valerie Fund Walk and JAG Physical Therapy Run, which will be held in Verona Park in Verona, New Jersey.
There are seven Valerie Fund Children's Centers that care for children with cancers and rare blood disorders in major hospitals in New Jersey, New York and the Philadelphia.
The goal of the Valerie Fund Walk is to raise more than $1 million to help the Valerie Fund's programs that provide caring, comprehensive and state-of-the-art outpatient health care to more than 4,000 children and their families each year.
Young Cancer Patients Express Gratitude Towards Valerie Fund
WCBS 880's John Metaxas has been speaking with some of the patients and their families who have benefited from the support and care the Valerie Fund provides.
LINK: Sign Up For The Walk/Run
Just ask Diane Duan.
"I was 12-years-old and I was diagnosed with A.L.L. - Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia," she told Metaxas.
Then there's 11-year-old Duncan Mara.
"We were on vacation and I was having neck pain," he said.
He was diagnosed Langerhan's Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), which is a rare blood disorder. His mother was told it was very serious.
"We cried a lot. It's horrifying. It's something you never want to hear as a parent, that your child is this sick," she said.
Fortunately, these families have had the support and care of the Valerie Fund to ease their way through their debilitating diseases.
"I could never express fully to them how much they've helped us out," she said.
"It just makes me feel comfortable that they know if I need somebody to talk to, they'll be there for me," Duan said.
"I think the Valerie Fund is really nice. Everyone there is really nice," Duncan said.
Both Duan and Mara will be walking in this Saturday's event.
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