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Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?

The statistics are astounding; according to cancer.org, more than 10,000 children in the United States under the age of 15 were diagnosed with cancer in the year 2016.

A child in Pulaski County is currently battling an extremely rare form of cancer, which has progressed to stage 4.

Today is a good day for 2-year- old Grayson Reed who has good days that aren’t taken for granted anymore.

In May, doctors found a tumor behind his right eye.

The boy was diagnosed with a fast-growing, aggressive and extremely rare form of cancer that is now in his head, brain, and lungs.

“I didn’t think it was real. I’m going to start crying,” said Linsey Reed, Grayson’s mom.

Grayson is one of only four children in the U.S. fighting this rare form of cancer–a fight which involves weekly chemo treatments that last two hours.

“He’s on a 54-week aggressive chemo plan, he is going to have to have radiation, and he will have to have brain surgery,” said Reed.

It’s a strong fight that the 2-year-old is taking in stride.

The boy’s family is doing its best too. Grayson’s Father works hard to support his medical needs, his mom cares for him throughout the day, and his 5-year-old brother, Bryson, is staying with relatives in West Virginia to make sure that Grayson’s immune system isn’t compromised.

“Nobody prepares you for what all you need. He has to have tubes for his feeding tubes, the bags, the ports. He’s on 14 different medications. You have to get those refilled all the time,” said Reed.

These days, the Reed family is just holding tight to the good news as Grayson’s cancer has stopped growing for now.

“They have given him a 20 percent success rate over it, but it’s a five-year span. So we have hope to go on,” said Reed.

If you’re interested in helping out Grayson’s family with medical expenses, visit the GoFundMe Page here or here.

Mother With Cancer Dies A Day After Giving Birth To Twins

A mother who had beaten cervical cancer TWICE, including once while pregnant, died of heart failure just a day after giving birth to twins.

The Fresno, California Mom, Jamie Snider, gave birth to twins Camila and Nico.

During the pregnancy, Snider was going through chemotherapy to overcome an advanced form of cervical cancer.

Snider also has two older daughters that are mourning her death.

She had previously battled cancer and lost an ovary in the process. While pregnant, she learned the cancer had returned and did what she could to fight it, according to her brother, Chris Snider.

“They couldn’t give her too much chemo because it would affect the development of the babies,” he told KGO-TV in San Francisco. “She made sure, she made sure those babies would live. She traded her life.”

Despite that, Doctors told her that she had beat cancer for a second time, just in time to give birth via C-section.

At 33 weeks, the babies were born prematurely and weighed only about 3½ pounds. They were, however, healthy, and Snider was a proud mother.

In order to ensure she would have a long life with her family, Snider had a radical hysterectomy to remove any remaining cervical cancer.

Sadly, Snider died a day after giving birth and having the surgery, not of cancer – but of heart failure.

“What gives me peace in my heart is she got to see those babies and hold them and be with them a little bit,” her friend Larina Campanile told KGO-TV.

The twins have been discharged out of the hospital and are with members of Snider’s family until they can move to New Hampshire with their father and older sisters.