Hello and welcome,
My name is Mark Dungan but, perhaps, I am better known as "Daddy" to a beautiful 3 year old little girl. Sydney, my daughter, was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma in June of 2003. She continues her struggle but serves as a constant reminder of how strong and resilient our little children are. Although she has received over 6 rounds of high dose induction chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, a stem cell transplant, 12 rounds of radiation and months and months of immunotherapy and maintenance chemotherapy there is no guarantee that she will survive. Neuroblastoma is an extremely difficult cancer to beat and she, like thousands of others, fight this battle with little guarantee of a future.
It was her inspiration and others that led hundreds of families to unite to try and fund the cure. We started "Lunch for Life" in an effort to save our children and the thousands that will follow. The concept is simple. We are asking everyone in the world to give up lunch for one day and donate the money to research. All funds raised through "Lunch for Life" go directly to research. It is an easy price to pay and, if we can get enough of the world to take a stand against childhood cancer, thousands and thousands of lives will be saved.
Please help us change the world. It is just one lunch out of your life and it will be the very gift that provides thousands of children with just that -- Life! Please donate your lunch money to the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation and help us eradicate this monster. Give up a lunch. Spread the word. We will save lives.
Sincerely,
Who we are fighting for
Nick Tallungan
Diagnosed April 1995
An angel on April 11, 1999
Please help us to reach our goal so other children may have a chance at a healthy and happy life.
Pat Tallungan, President of CNCF and Nick's mom
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Payton Bogert
You all need to understand that everyday I sit here knowing that MY daughter is alive and I wonder why we were so lucky (Not that I would trade it in a second!!!). Why she made it and the numerous others did not. Why I can be happy and lighthearted when my friends are grieving and hurting beyond comprehension.
And it is then that I know that if I was so lucky and so blessed that it is my job to fight so that no one else has to suffer. I know that I have to use my fortune and try to help find that cure and while I am not a scientist I must seek out funding through congress, through donations, through awareness. That is my job now. I must make sure that in 10 years from now no parent must decide between their child's hearing and life, between fertility and life. My Payton will never have a baby and will never hear some of the most beautiful noises this earth has to offer all because she had chemo. This hurts me more than I can explain...To know she will never hold her own sweet child in her arms-it makes me sick with hatred for this disease! Again, thanks so much for all you are doing!! www.caringbridge.org/fl/paytonbogert Gin Bogert, Payton's mom
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Roxie Pasma
Roxie is the little girl next door ... it's not fair, and some days we still wonder if it's even real. Cancer, what's that? On June 24th, 2003, Cancer entered the life of our family, not quietly, not through the back door, but full force right where we could feel it the most. Like others, we would have never considered this as a possibility, yet there it was. In the moment the words were uttered, our lives where forever changed. We are now survivors! Roxie, her identical twin Mackenzie, her brother Zack, Mom and Dad, all of us. This is the path that we choose. However, survival is not only ours to predict. Many have fought this monster and have not prevailed.
Enter "Lunch for Life". It fills the void between our reality and the healthy lives of so many other children. While I would never wish this disease on anyone, we must also acknowlege it's existence, and in fact, strive to eradicate it forever. How? By finding a cure. Sure, there are other childhood cancers, but this one, neuroblastoma, is one of the most lethal faced by our young. No child, no family, deserves to experience this warped world. Your contributions can, and are, making a difference! So I ask you this, "How much is your lunch really worth?" Please consider donating one of your lunches for the hope of setting these children free. http://www.tlcontact.com/ServeCarePage?cpn=RoxiePasma
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Cassandra Steinle
Our daughter, Cassandra was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage IV with a large abdominal tumor and bone marrow involvement on April 19, 1999. Through aggressive treatment and God's grace, she has had no evidence of disease since September 1999.
Unlike the majority of children diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage IV,
she is here today to participate with me in Lunch for Life. My daughter is in a very small minority of long term survivors with the disease and even her future is uncertain.
I felt helpless during Cassandra's treatment and also afterward. There was nothing I could do or control to help her and others like her. Through the Lunch for Life program I could help to make a difference for Cassandra, other children currently being treated for Neuroblastoma and for children still yet to be diagnosed.
Throughout her treatment, we did not ask anyone for anything. We toughed it out both emotionally and financially by ourselves. It took a lot for me to step out and make the plea but the effort has been so worth it. I was energized to ask for donations and to spread the word, my comfort zone did not matter, this was about a better good for all.
One of our local newspaper has agreed to do a feature news story on Neuroblastoma, Lunch for Life, and our family. The reporter is a wonderful lady who has taken a huge interest in the Lunch for Life effort. She is sending a photographer to our home next week to take pictures for the article. She wants the article to "get the attention it deserves". She has thanked me many times for coming forward with our story.
This effort is like the mustard seed. Though it is the smallest of seeds, when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree. May the roots of Lunch for Life take hold and produce fruit for generations to come. We have been blessed to be a part of this effort. Eleanor Steinle, Cassandra's mom
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Anthony Giardino
Can you imagine what it feels like when a doctor tells you that your 2 year old has cancer, his chances of survival are 20-40% and he must start life-threatening treatment immediately. Four and a half years ago, we got to experience it first-hand; it was Mother’s Day. We watched as our world crumbled before us. After four years of searching for that cure, we watched him take his last breath on April 6, 2003. He celebrated his last birthday at the age of 6. Our three year old doesn’t understand why his best friend has left us. I cannot make him understand. It breaks my heart to watch his sister cry at night because she misses him so much. We will do this for Anthony, and for the others who have lost their battle or who are currently fighting and those of you who will be diagnosed in the future. We cannot let Neuroblastoma take another child’s life; we cannot let it destroy another family. If you have already given up your lunch and spread the word, I cannot thank you enough. If you are thinking about it, please take another look at all the beautiful children on this page. Isn’t it worth a lunch!
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Nick Leslie
Nick was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma on June 18, 2002. It was the biggest shock and the worst news we had ever heard. We hope that is the worst day we will ever have. We don't want to see our child die. That is one of the reasons that we felt obligated to join the Lunch for Life Campaign. We were shocked to find that Neuroblastoma had such a low survival rate. We have to do something to help all of these precious children live.
Lunch for Life has been more than a way to raise research funds. It has been an encouragement to our family. We receive tons of emails from people that we don't even know. The people not only say that they are donating funds to assist in research, but they are praying for my son. They are passing along an important message to their friends - Neuroblastoma is a horrible disease and we need to help those precious children. My son is still fighting this disease.
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