Governor Stein Proclaims Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children, and one in 285 children in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer by their 20th birthday; and

Whereas, 46 children per day or 16,790 children per year are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S., and the average age of diagnosis is six years old; and

Whereas, 80 percent of childhood cancer patients are diagnosed late and with metastatic disease; on average, there has been a 0.6 percent increase in incidence per year since the mid-1970s, resulting in an overall 24 percent increase in incidence over the past 40 years; and

Whereas, two-thirds of childhood cancer patients will have chronic health conditions as a result of their treatment toxicity, with one quarter being classified as severe to life-threatening; and

Whereas, hundreds of non-profit organizations at the local and national level, including the American Childhood Cancer Organization, are helping children with cancer and their families cope through educational, emotional, and financial support; and

Whereas, in October 2024, Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital announced the launch of the Alliance for Research and Innovations in Pediatric Oncology, or ARISE Cancer Consortium, which aims to advance research, supportive care, and treatment for children, adolescents, and young adults battling cancer; and

Whereas, North Carolina received 308 grants from the National Cancer Institute in FY2024, bringing more than $150 million into the state to advance cancer research; as federal funding is now at risk, the state will consider how it can fill gaps to continue critical, life-saving cancer research for children; and

Whereas, researchers and health care professionals work diligently in dedicating their expertise to treat and cure children with cancer, but too many children are affected by this deadly disease and more must be done to raise awareness and find a cure;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 2025 as “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month” in North Carolina and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-first day of August in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.