Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: Why Hope Matters Alongside Treatment

Every September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month brings attention to children and families affected by pediatric cancer. It is a time to raise awareness, support childhood cancer research, celebrate survivors, remember children lost to the disease, and stand alongside families navigating a diagnosis.

For Carolina Sunshine for Children, September is also an important reminder of something at the heart of our mission: a child facing cancer is still a child.

Treatment matters. Research matters. Awareness matters. But so do laughter, adventure, anticipation, family memories, and having something wonderful to look forward to.

What Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is recognized each September to increase awareness of pediatric cancer and the experiences of children and families affected by it.

While childhood cancer is considered rare, thousands of families receive a diagnosis every year. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 14,690 children and adolescents ages 0–19 were diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2025. Cancer also remains a leading cause of death from disease among children in the United States.

The most common cancers among children ages 0–14 include leukemias, brain and other central nervous system tumors, and lymphomas.

Those statistics help explain why awareness is important. But they tell only a small part of the story.

Behind every number is a child whose world may suddenly include hospital stays, treatments, appointments, missed school days, and uncertainty—and a family navigating it all alongside them.

Childhood Should Still Feel Like Childhood

A cancer diagnosis can change nearly every part of a child's routine.

The National Cancer Institute encourages families to help children with cancer maintain as much normalcy as possible during treatment. And while a wish cannot change a diagnosis or replace medical treatment, it can create something entirely different for a child to focus on.

Something exciting. Something joyful. Something that's theirs.

Instead of being known primarily as a patient, they get to be the kid who met someone they admire, traveled somewhere incredible, experienced something new, or watched a huge dream become real.

That's where organizations like Carolina Sunshine can play a special role.

How Can a Wish Help a Child Facing Cancer?

A wish gives a child and their family an opportunity to step outside the routines surrounding illness and create positive memories together.

The impact can begin well before the wish itself. There's the moment a child learns their wish is really happening. The planning. The countdown. The conversations around the dinner table. The excitement about what they'll do first. And then there are the memories that remain afterward.

For families navigating childhood cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, those moments can offer something especially valuable: a reason to look forward.

At Carolina Sunshine for Children, we believe children deserve opportunities to dream big regardless of what they're facing.

Childhood Cancer Awareness Is About Families, Too

Childhood cancer doesn't affect one person in isolation.

Parents and caregivers may juggle medical decisions, work, travel, finances, and the emotional weight of watching their child undergo treatment. Brothers and sisters experience changes to routines and family life as well. That's why creating a wish is about more than giving one child an extraordinary experience.

It's also about creating an opportunity for a family to experience joy together.

A wish can become a chapter in a family's story that isn't centered on illness. Instead, it's remembered for the laughter, excitement, adventure, and time spent together.

How Can You Support Children With Cancer During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?

There are many meaningful ways to recognize Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

You can learn more about childhood cancer from trusted organizations such as the National Cancer Institute, support pediatric cancer research, help families in your community, volunteer, or support organizations serving children with serious illnesses.

You can also help more people understand that supporting a child through cancer means caring about their quality of life and emotional well-being, too. And sometimes, that means helping give a child permission to stop thinking about what's difficult and start dreaming about what's possible.

Help Us Keep Granting Wishes

Throughout Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we honor the children facing cancer, the survivors, the families standing beside them, and the healthcare professionals and researchers working toward better outcomes.

At Carolina Sunshine for Children, we're honored to play another small role in that journey: bringing a little more sunshine into childhood.

By supporting Carolina Sunshine, you help us grant wishes for South Carolina children facing life-threatening illnesses and create moments of hope, happiness, and unforgettable family memories.

Because cancer may become part of a child's story. But it shouldn't get to write the whole thing.

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FAQ: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

When is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is observed every September to raise awareness of pediatric cancer and support children and families affected by it.

What are the most common types of childhood cancer? According to the National Cancer Institute, leukemias, brain and other central nervous system tumors, and lymphomas are among the most common cancers diagnosed in children ages 0–14.

How can I help children with cancer in South Carolina? You can support pediatric cancer research and treatment organizations, help families in your community, volunteer, and support nonprofits like Carolina Sunshine for Children that serve South Carolina children facing life-threatening illnesses.

How does Carolina Sunshine for Children help? Carolina Sunshine grants wishes to eligible South Carolina children facing life-threatening illnesses, creating opportunities for joy, hope, and meaningful family memories.