30 Days to Press On

     Thank you dear followers! We send you our love and gratitude. You’ve learned about Patrick, Brennan, Hallie, Caiden, Burke, and Maya. You’ve learned about neuroblastoma, AML, and even Hallie’s rare tumor HGNET-BCOR. You know exactly how important this situation is. Every two minutes a child is diagnosed with childhood cancer. One in five…

  Potential Energy   Every child represents so much potential energy. He could live to be 100. She could grow up to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Someone has to be the one to grow up to cure cancer. When a child dies, so does their potential energy. It gets lost. All the dreams from…

Both Brennan and Patrick were Lego pros during their time in the hospital. But play in a hospital is just not the same as play out in the world.    Time to Play Here at Press On, our motto is “Whatever you play, play for Press On.” Play is a vital part of childhood, but…

Tara with Christopher, Brennan, and the boys’ Uncle Tom (Davis) after running the St. Jude Half Marathon in 2012.  Race for a Cure Here at Press On, we’re trying as hard as we can to push the boundaries of childhood cancer research. And we’re doing it every way we can! Tara Simkins, Brennan’s mother, will…

Meet Caiden. by Mark & Terri Rettig Caiden was a smart, vibrant two-year-old who was the “love of our lives”.  He had big brown eyes and gorgeous auburn hair. Caiden had an incredible zest for life, and lived every day with abundant laughter and pure happiness.  He loved trains, reading books, swimming, going to the zoo, but…

Time to Turn Awareness into Action We’ve told you our stories. We’ve raised your awareness. This week is about Action. Each day we’ll bring you a new way to support Press On. Please share with your friends! Today is for the music lovers…   Patrick Chance and Turner Simkins   This Saturday, September 30th, Press…

Help us make a difference Press On was created by parents looking for solutions. We seek out innovative research focused on cures for the toughest childhood cancers. Our kids deserve the best. They deserve long, healthy lives after cancer, free from the long-term side effects caused by current treatments. This month, we’re matching all donations…

Thank you for continuing on this journey with us! Here is your weekly Saturday Recap. This week we focused on Hallie Crawford and her family’s journey with a rare brain tumor.   Sunday, Day 17: Sunday Challenge ~ Have you joined the Bone Marrow Registry yet?   Monday, Day 18: Hallie Crawford’s whirlwind journey with an extremely…

30 Days to Press On is about creating a collective consciousness working toward a common goal: A world without childhood cancer. Today, we bring you a reflection written by Hallie’s mother Melanie, just for you. May it guide you in your day. These are the Days Melanie Crawford It was September 2011, how many times had I walked around this parking…

There is a particularly touching tradition in the closing ceremony of Hit the Bricks for Brian, a classic Wake Forest University fundraiser for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Foundation. A silent lap around the quad, during which teammates and friends can often be seen holding hands, followed by a few speeches. After that year’s speakers,…

Another Side to the Story by Bob Crawford Imagine this for a second; you have a three-month-old son who has colic, and then you get blindsided by the news that your 22-month-old daughter has cancer. We here at Press On spend September telling our children’s stories, banging the drum, trying to raise awareness about pediatric…

What many outside the cancer world don’t realize is just how difficult some brain tumors can be to diagnose. Today, Hallie’s father Bob recounts their diagnosis journey ~ something that took place over the course of nearly four years.  Hallie’s Tumor Journey By Bob Crawford One thing I’ve learned over the past six years is…

Meet Hallie Hallie was a happy, thriving 22-month-old until she presented with a brain tumor on August 28th, 2011. “Presented” is the sanitized term medical professionals use to describe the moment it becomes evident someone has a disease. For Hallie, that moment was sudden, traumatic, life-threatening. Her mother, Melanie, discovered her having a seizure and…

Thank you for continuing on this journey with us! Here is your weekly Saturday Recap. This week we focused on Brennan Simkins and Acute Myeloid Leukemia.   Sunday: A 15-Minute Challenge.   Monday: Brennan Simkins’s remarkable journey with AML and the Possibilities it represents.   Tuesday: Acute Myeloid Leukemia ~ how we fight it, why…

30 Days to Press On is about creating a collective consciousness working toward a common goal: A world without childhood cancer. Today, we bring you a meditation written by Brennan’s mother Tara, just for you. May it guide you in your day. Occupy Hope with Us by Tara Simkins When your child, or someone you love, is…

Meet Maya Collins Maya was diagnosed with AML when she was eight years old, and after one relapse and two bone marrow transplants, was pronounced cancer free in 2012. The Collins family enjoyed four years of remission, almost to the five-year survivor mark, when their biggest fears were realized: Maya relapsed again in June of 2016.…

Brennan needed four bone marrow transplants before he found his “cure”. In the very special photo above, he stands with his four bone marrow donors. In order of transplant and from left to right: His brother Nat. Now nearly 18, he was only 10 years old when he donated his “perfect match” bone marrow to…

Brennan battled pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia and has been in remission for six years. But how common is his story? And what else can be done? Who is affected by AML? Most AML patients are over 60 years of age. Only 500 children are diagnosed with AML every year. What is the prognosis for pediatric…

Fighting leukemia with a Band of Brothers.       What Tara and Turner planned as a perfect snowy family trip to the North Carolina mountains in January 2009 turned out to be anything but when the Simkins rushed their fever stricken son, Brennan, back to Augusta, Georgia.  Brennan was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (“AML”)…