Chemo Duck gears up to celebrate childhood cancer awareness month

I wrote a piece on Gabe's My Heart a while back (Friend in Need: Chemo Duck) when CURE recognized Lu Sipos as an advocate for childhood cancer patients because she offered something that helped her own son through cancer. When Sipos' 1-year-old son, Gabe, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in 2002, he didn't understand the diagnosis or his treatment, which is why Sipos transformed a stuffed animal into Chemo Duck, complete with scrubs, a bandana and chemotherapy port. The toy became not only a source of comfort for Gabe, but also a learning tool. Nearly 10 years later, Chemo Duck has found its way into hospitals across the country--not only for children with cancer, but also for children of parents who were facing cancer. It has become a learning toy that helps children understand certain aspects of the disease.I appreciated the idea behind Chemo Duck. So when I heard that the young daughter of an acquaintance had developed leukemia, I put together a notebook for her and sent her a Chemo Duck.This past week, Gabe's My Heart announced that it is celebrating Childhood Cancer Awareness in September by thanking all of their supporters and revving up its fundraising to provide 400 children with their very own Chemo Duck. They are hoping people will donate at least $25 by "adopting a duck" for a child with cancer. The first 400 ducks "donated" before Oct. 1 will become an entry into a raffle. Four gifts, one of which is a new iPad, were donated to Gabe's My Heart to help the non-profit reach its fundraising goal. Winners will be notified via email and announced on the Chemo Duck Facebook page on Oct. 3.