As I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with my cousins. My mother had three siblings who were all extremely close, so their kids ended up together a lot when we were young. Out of all of the cousins, there were only two girls – Angela and me.
The boys would skateboard, play sports and drive a go-cart through the trails in the woods. Angela and I would listen to records and play with dolls. She was a couple of years older than I and I was crazy about her.
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So when Angela got leukemia, we were all devastated. It was a rare form of leukemia that not many children survived and we were all beside ourselves.
Besides the terrifying and heartbreaking diagnosis and treatment, Angela’s family also had to deal with horrible medical bills and additional expenses they incurred during the treatments. Angela went through countless sessions of radiation and chemotherapy, all at the medical center two hours from their home. She was often not well enough to travel home after treatment, so the whole family would have to stay out of town. The hotels, meals at restaurants and gas for travel were all enormous expenses on top of an already unbearable debt.
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Thankfully, after more than a year in treatment, Angela went into remission. We were so relieved and thankful that she would be OK. We eventually got back into semi-normal life, Angela went back to school and eventually grew up to marry and have three wonderful sons.
But the financial toll from the treatment followed the family for many years. They’d had some savings before the diagnosis, but it was all burned through immediately. There was just no way to pay the medical bills and expenses.
Aflac would have been an enormous help and a blessing for them.
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Because Aflac is committed to fighting against childhood cancer, and has even raised more than $93 million for the fight.
To honor the many heroes of pediatric cancer, Aflac has created the Duckprints award. It celebrates those heroes who have made a difference in the fight against cancer, with ceremonies at childhood cancer hospitals, on social media and through nominations on AflacDuckprints.com.
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Want to join the fight against childhood cancer?
Just tweet, retweet, share or post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, using the hashtag #Duckprints. For every social media share with the hashtag, Aflac will give an additional $2 to the Aflac Cancer Center. It’s that easy!
You can also grab some of the cute Duckprints merchandise from participating Macy’s stores or online at aflacduckprints.com. All of the net proceeds will go to hospitals treating childhood cancer across the U.S.
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Join us in the fight against childhood cancer!
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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.