Public Parks
Look at the joy Mikey exudes in this photo at the simple pleasure of being outside with his dad, Al, in a public park close to our home! As schools let out and summertime play begins, it’s time to turn the attention of our childhood cancer prevention campaign to the spaces where children play. Children…
Resources for Safe Babies
As parents prepare to welcome their newest members, it’s vital that they have the resources to make the best choices for their families. Resources like the Getting Ready for Baby’s Safe Baby Products Guide provide an interactive handbook to “understand where chemicals of concern can lurk in products made for babies, and how to find…
Pre-Natal Exposure
This week’s preventative focus is on an unexpected yet vulnerable part of our community: Exposure during pregnancy. At a critical time in development, prenatal exposure to pesticides, air pollution, and even paint is now strongly associated with childhood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. A recent study published in Environmental Research even supports science linking prenatal…
Home Gardening
Dear home gardeners, listen up! Do you realize that awaiting you in your summer vegetable gardens, flower beds, and well-kept lawns there is an opportunity to prevent childhood cancer?? Before you go to your local nursery, Lowe’s, or Home Depot to purchase RoundUp or some other herbicide to kill the weeds growing in your lawn,…
Golf Courses and Cancer Prevention
We spent the first two weeks of this childhood cancer prevention campaign talking to home gardeners and pregnant mothers… golfers, it’s your turn! Ever wonder how the courses you love maintain such green, weed-free grass? Unfortunately, behind those highly manicured greens are a whole assortment of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers. Aside from the…
Harmful Chemicals in Our Homes Cont’d.
As we throw out bad products and fill our homes with safe ones, it’s important that we spread the word! Did you know that material suppliers are NOT required by law to disclose all the chemicals in their materials? Even more dangerous, product manufacturers often don’t ask for full disclosure of chemical ingredients. Yes, it’s…
The Story of Swifty
This story begins in the wildly inventive, clever, gentle, tumor-ridden brain of a fourteen-year-old boy from Woodridge, Illinois. On a September afternoon in 2012, Michael Gustafson woke up from a nap with an idea. He was going to donate his body to science “so that no other child would have to go through” what he…
Harmful Chemicals In the Home
Spring cleaning is underway, but did you know that many popular household products contain chemicals linked to childhood cancer? Some examples include carcinogens like formaldehyde in particle boards, flame retardants in furniture foam, PVC, plastic products, paint, cleaning products, plastic products with bisphenol-a (BPA), and non-stick and stain-resistant items that contain perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Why…
Seven Bridges Eye Care
Seven Bridges Eye Care holds a special place in Swifty’s heart. Dr. Doug Azzaro is the owner, optometrist and Michael’s best friend’s dad…some very important titles! From the beginning Dr. Doug has showcased Swifty at his store. He sells Swifty t-shirts, Swifty eyeglass cloths, and he displays our Annual Appeals for customers to peruse and…
Prevention Through Everyday Actions
Hi there! Mica and Bridget here to introduce our spring/summer series highlighting childhood cancer prevention research. This series really began when we were young kids, faced with the terminal illness of our cousin and twin brother. As you might imagine, being confronted with the devastating realities of childhood cancer impacted how we work and move…
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