Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

This September, more than 13,000 children will be diagnosed with cancer*

Cancer is one of the most common condition categories affecting wish children.

A wish begins with hope, you can help to grant a wish for a child with cancer, today.

*across Make-A-Wish Affiliate countries and territories. View our research

João’s Wish

Joao on horseback

By the age of 7, João had started to feel sick all the time and with an inexplicable fever. His worried parents took him to the doctor and then the hospital for tests before he was diagnosed with cancer. João soon started chemo and after some months was in remission. But unfortunately, the cancer returned and João’s parents have been told he will need a bone marrow transplant.

João loves nature, the countryside and farm animals, especially horses. When Make-A-Wish Brasil volunteers met him, they found a passionate boy, but one who was very worried about his future. João wished to be a cowboy and to learn how to ride a horse as a professional. On the day his wish was granted, João went to a farm with Make-A-Wish Brasil volunteers and had a blast! He was amazed and very happy to take care of the animals and herd sheep with the help of herd dogs before getting to ride a horse like a real cowboy.

Thanks to his wish experience João could feel like a child again – the world and his future held endless possibilities.

Our Wish Stories

I Wish To Have an Off-Road Buggy

I Wish To Have an Off-Road Buggy

For eight-year-old Zachariah, a series of mobility limiting conditions had left him unable to explore the great outdoors. But his wish to have an off-road buggy has expanded his world.

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I Wish To Save Kittens

I Wish To Save Kittens

After 5-year-old Jasper was diagnosed with leukaemia, he had to stay in hospital for nearly five months. The once energetic little boy had become exhausted from treatments and couldn’t play with his brother.

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I Wish To Drive A Steam Train

I Wish To Drive A Steam Train

After 5-year-old Jasper was diagnosed with leukaemia, he had to stay in hospital for nearly five months. The once energetic little boy had become exhausted from treatments and couldn’t play with his brother.

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About Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Gold ribbon graphic

As children in many parts of the world go back to school, for children undergoing treatment for cancer there is no return to normality, no catching up with friends or recounting their adventures over the break. This typical childhood experience is replaced by uncertainty and isolation. There are missed opportunities and endless hospital visits. There is worry in their parents’ eyes and uncertainty about the future.

For children living with cancer, childhood is stolen. A wish has the power to restore childhood, bringing strength to help them cope with treatment, hope for the future and sheer joy of their wish-come-true. This September, an estimated 13,600 children around the world will be diagnosed with cancer across Make-A-Wish Affiliate countries and territories*. We need your help to bring childhood back to children living with cancer.

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