Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis proclaims Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

PROCLAMATION

During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we honor the hundreds of thousands of children who have faced or continue to face the terrifying ordeal of cancer. We stand with families suffering the loss of children taken too soon by the disease and reaffirm our commitment to helping find a cure for cancer and ending childhood cancer as we know it.

Cancer is the second most common cause of death among children ages 1 to 14, and the rate of cancer incidence for children has been increasing since the 1970s. In that time, we have also seen huge improvements in both methods of treatment and survival rates – but we owe it to our children to do more.

California is home to some of the leading research hospitals in the country – including the University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Davis Medical Centers – that support ground-breaking research in treating childhood cancer. Even as the federal government slashes critical funding for cancer care and research, California has created essential funding streams for childhood cancer research that make it easier for the public to help.

In California, we have dramatically increased access to health care for families across the state. We work to protect our kids from toxic substances and pollution that can cause cancer and other diseases, including keeping synthetic food dyes out of school meals and working to better understand the risks of ultra-processed foods, both of which have been linked to cancer. We focus on preventative care and research, while offering some of the best care in the nation when the unimaginable happens.  

No child should have to worry about a cancer diagnosis, about balancing school or play dates with chemotherapy and recovery time. This month, we extend our gratitude to those searching for a cure and those supporting young patients through these heartbreaking times. We stand with families who fight and care for their kids. But above all, we honor the brave children, those lost and those still thankfully with us today – it is these kids who are the bravest and strongest among us. They are the reasons we cannot give up in the search for a cure, and this month, California recommits to doing all that we can to end this terrible disease.

NOW THEREFORE I, ELENI KOUNALAKIS, Acting Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim September 2025 as “Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 20th day of September 2025.

ELENI KOUNALAKIS
Governor of California

ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State