When I decided to put all of those scribbles in my spiral notebooks into book form, I was entirely motivated by the belief my story could help others. This belief didn’t come easily. It took several times of being asked to speak at events before I realized how what I have been through needs to be shared. Now that Grace: A Child’s Intimate Journey Through Cancer and Recovery has been released, I see even more why God kept tugging on my heart– asking me to pour it into this project. There is nothing that makes me feel better on this Earth than being able to help someone else (okay, dancing is really, really close!) When other kids who are going through cancer, or their parents, contact me to ask for help with something, I gasp with amazement at how God can use something utterly horrendous and use it to bless those He loves. Wow. Double WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel change today. I feel hope today. My day began with an interview with Carina Corral of KSBY 6, San Luis Obispo, CA. We 
talked about how this incredible movement has begun with parents, friends, and loved ones whose lives have been affected by childhood cancer. An amazing woman named Christine started the Facebook page, “Oprah Please Do A Show On Childhood Cancer” out of her loving care for her friend and her friend’s son who are both battling cancer right now. There is SO much that needs to change.
Did you know that when adults are diagnosed with cancer, only 20% of them have advanced stages of the disease and when children are diagnosed, 80% have advanced cancer. Many, many times, children are originally misdiagnosed (Hello, me!) and this leads to valuable time wasted and terrible progression of their disease.
Also, childhood cancers are different from adult cancers. Adult cancers are sometimes caused by lifestyle choices such as smoking and diet, but the causes of childhood cancers are largely unknown.
I am extremely grateful to Carina and to KSBY 6 for recognizing the HUGE need to air this information. We MUST do everything we can to put a stop to the #1 disease killer of our children. My heart is bursting with gratitude, and hope is flying out!
Melinda Marchiano 
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