A brave mother of two young boys will shave her head this weekend to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer after one of her sons, Jake, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in 2010.
The doctors told Cristina Santoriella and her husband Robert, a 1984 Somers High School graduate, that their son was going to die – something no parent ever wants to hear.
But thanks to a bone marrow transplant from Jake's fraternal twin brother Chase, the boy is now alive and healthy. Jake, who has been described as a miracle, is in remission and celebrated his second anniversary of being cancer free on Oct. 21.
"I wish we lived in a world without cancer, but until then, we need to fund new treatments and drugs for our kids," Santoriella told Patch. "Right now, most of the medication used for children was developed over 20 years ago for adult cancers."
Santoriella, who lives in Mahopac with her family, has joined the 46 Mommas Shave For the Brave. She is traveling to San Antonio, Texas where she will shave her head for the St. Baldricks Foundation on June 30 to raise money and awareness.
There, she will also be honoring her son Jake.
Jake along with his brother Chase will also be making the trip with their mother and will be participating in some of the events, Santoriella told Patch.
On her fundraising page, Santoriella described herself as a stay-at-home mom who loves having smart, active, inquisitive, funny boys. When her son Jake was diagnosed with leukemia, what took her breath away were the grim realities of treatment options and toxicity, and the apathy toward kids with cancer, she wrote.
"The worst part is the shame I feel for not caring enough before cancer forced us to," Santoriella said. "As Moms we want to protect and advocate for our kids. As an oncology mom, I know how exhausting every day becomes. We wait for help from our friends and family outside of the cancer community, mostly, in vain. There is no help. We have to help ourselves and do our best to help those who will come after us. The Mommas inspire me to be that person. I want to do something for my kids. For all our kids."
To donate to Cristina Santoriella's cause, click here.
To read more about Jake and how he fought cancer, read Patch's article here.
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