Royal Dancetacular 2011!!

SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!!

Good evening friends. On September 6, 1989 I entered Valley View Junior/Senior High School - for the first time - as an 8th grader. Back then, the school housed grades 7-12. Seventh grade was spent in my living room, with a home-bound tutor, when I wasn't in Heshey, PA. No, I was not a chocolate/amusement park savant training to take over the empire from Milton Snavely Hershey. Contrarily, I was in The PennState Milton S. Hershey Medical Center fighting for a chance to live my life.

As a reference point, here is a short time-line of my cancer treatment. My parents and I made our first trip to Hershey on July 22, 1988. My leg was biopsied on July 25, 1988. High dose chemotherapy began to course through my veins on July 28, 1988, and I returned to a house full of people in Peckville, PA on August 1, 1988. On October 12, 1988, I endured a limb salvaging complex surgery. After completing 11 more months of chemo, I began my final treatment on September 7, 1988.

Why did I choose to include that specific timeline in this blog post? Simply because all of those events listed were expensive! But, guess what, payment never entered my 11 year old head. And, truthfully, it was not at the forefront for my parents either. But, it was a reality. Fortunately, all medical expenses not covered by my parents medical insurance were eradicated by Four Diamonds Fund. This charity helps any family being treated by PennState Hershey Children's Hospital, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. They have helped more than 2,000 families since 1972. Currently, approximately 100 new families receive support each year.

The four diamonds are courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength, as described by Chris Millard. He became on angel in 1972, but the legendary strength with which he fought his cancer battle live son through Four Diamonds. Penn State Dance Marathon, or "Thon," is responsible for a large chunk of their funding source. Four Diamonds made my cancer journey more bearable for my family, and will forever hold a special spot in our hearts. As such, I have always had a pipe dream of having a dance marathon to benefit local kids battling cancer, but lacked the know how.

While at the University of Scranton, I became very involved with volunteer work. Pat Vaccaro was a driving force behind my desire to make a difference through local projects, many service trips, and school projects. Pat and I reconnected last year through Cancertacular™'s first intern. After weeks of debating what-if's and should we's, Royal Dancetacular was born. It is based very loosely on Thon, as it is about 1/100th the size of Thon!
Our first try, February 20-21, 2010 was a screaming success. Below, please find some words from a junior at the University of Scranton regarding Royal Dancetacular, 2011:

"Hi everyone! My name is Sarah Phillips and I am this year's overall chair for Royal Dancetacular. Royal Dancetacular is Cancertacular™'s 24 hour dance marathon that takes place at the University of Scranton in February. Its purpose is to raise money for kids in NEPA facing cancer. Last year, we raised over $8,600 for the kids. My connection with this month, one about raising awareness for childhood cancer, is Dancetacular. Through Dancetacular, we not only raise money to benefit the families of Cancertacular™, but we continue to raise awareness among the campus community, in hopes of spreading Cancertacular™'s message. Ultimately, it is this awareness that will draw attention to the need for a cure."

In a nutshell, Royal Dancetacular is very representative of the greatest and most meaningful aspects of my life. It is a priviledge and honor to excite students at my Alma Mater about my life's passion - childhood cancer. Pictured above is the newly created shirts for Dancetacular 2011. They are currently on sale for $10, of which all proceeds will benefit local children battling cancer.

As the back of this year's shirts say, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible!" Join us on February 19-20, 2011 to be part of the magic that is made for childhood cancer on the campus of the University of Scranton!

Fabulously yours,

Tina