Becky’s Run to Eradicate Childhood Cancer
Childhood cancer, the second leading cause of death in children ages 1-14 years, exceeded only by accidents, has slowly increased by 0.6 percent per year since 1975, when cancer registration began in the United States. An estimated 10,380 new cases are expected to occur in 2016 and 1,250 will die that same year.
Orange County Water District Community Outreach and Education Coordinator Becky Mudd is using her pastime of running to give meaning to the families and children that have been affected by this malignant disease. Becky Mudd’s Run for Gold brings awareness and funding to the fight against pediatric cancer.
Running the equivalent of a marathon each day, Becky plans to run more than 450 miles over a 14-day period (May 28-June 10) in Utah to raise funds for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF). Starting at St. George, Utah and finishing at the Colorado border after touching five of the most famous National Parks—Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyon Land, and Arches/Moab, she hopes to reach her goal of $20,000 in donations.
“Over the last 30 years there have only been two new drugs developed specifically for pediatric cancers and of the billions of tax dollars that our government allots to the National Cancer Institute, only 3.8 percent goes towards all 12 major children’s cancers and 200 subtypes,” says Becky. “Most funding for research comes from private fundraising from foundations such as PCRF. Last year PCRF raised $2.5 million research dollars. Their goal was $2.3 million. The foundation is based in Irvine and they are some of the most wonderful people I have ever known.”
Becky helped the cause of cancer research for children-specific treatments through PCRF last year by raising nearly $9,000 during her 263-mile run across California. During that run, which was captured by media all along the journey from Huntington Beach to the Arizona border, she met with families who had lost children to cancer and ran with the additional devotion to her two sisters who had died of cancer.
Those wishing to support Becky by donating to the cause are encouraged to visit her donation page.