Plattsburgh Relay for Life surpasses fundraising goal

PLATTSBURGH | What do the numbers 43,1,95,4 mean to you? While those numbers may seem random to some, to parents of children with cancer they stand for a lot more. The number 43 is the number of children diagnosed with cancer in the United States every day. Cancer is the number one death by disease among children. The number 95 is the percent of childhood cancer survivors who will have significant health-related issues due to current treatment options, and four. And four is the percent of government funding for cancer research that is directed towards treating childhood cancer. At 17 months old Jocelyn Ducharme was diagnosed with Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor, more commonly known as ATRT. ATRT is a rare, aggressive, and fast-growing tumor of the brain and spinal cord. ATRT is most common in children three years of age or younger. Signs and symptoms of ATRT depend on the child's age and where the tumor is located. For Jocelyn, her parents, Katelynn and Josh Ducharme knew something was wrong when Jocelyn started vomiting daily and was acting very lethargic and dazed most of the day. "After being misdiagnosed with the flu for a month straight, she was finally given an MRI which showed the very large mass. The day after the tumor was discovered she underwent her first brain surgery," the Ducharme's said in a Facebook post. To date, Jocelyn has had five brain surgeries, high dose chemotherapy treatments, bone marrow transplants, and protein radiation therapy which resulted in being declared cancer-free on March 11, 2020. Unfortunately during a routine MRI on July 13, 2020 results showed that Jocelyn's cancer was back. Despite trying every treatment that they could, cancer persisted. Currently, Jocelyn has five tumors located throughout her brain. Jocelyn has become a household name as her story has spread throughout the North Country. Right now, Katelynn and Josh are raising money to participate in the Relay for Life of Plattsburgh. They're registered for the event under the name Team Jocelyn and will be the first team in Plattsburgh to raise funds solely for childhood cancer research. So far they have raised $63,545 for the Gold Together Relay for Life Team and are the number one team out of the 41 teams signed up for the Plattsburgh event in terms of fundraising. Additionally, Team Jocelyn is the number one team in the country in fundraising for Gold Together, with Katelynn being the number one participant, and the Relay for Life of Plattsburgh being the number one event. Now at the age of three, Jocelyn and her family have not only raised a significant amount of money for childhood cancer research, but they've also raised awareness. With 1.4 million followers on Tik Tok and 24 thousand followers on Facebook, the Ducharme's have shared Jocelyn's story with countless people across the nation and brought attention to an underfunded subject. Initiatives such as Gold Together, through the American Cancer Society, work to provide funds to directly support childhood cancer research, education, advocacy, service, as well as promote cancer-preventive initiatives aimed towards children to help their risk for cancer later in life. "Raising money 100 percent for childhood cancer research is huge for me. The funds raised have the potential to help Jocelyn and all other sweet babies like her. Our children deserve a fighting chance and new/better treatment options," Katelynn said. Local businesses such as Central Nutrition, who has teamed up with Elite Nutrition, Elevate 518, Up North Nutrition, Evolve, and Hometown Nutrition to donate their tips to Team Jocelyn and Freaky Tiki Bar & Grill is hosting a fundraising night on Aug. 26 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. are all helping with the effort to raise money for childhood cancer research. To learn more about Relay for Life and how to get involved visit their website. For more information about Jocelyn's story and fundraising effort visit the TeamJocelyn-ATRT Facebook Page.

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Plattsburgh Relay for Life surpasses fundraising goal

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