Every year, thousands of Fresno State students wake up at the crack of dawn and devote a part (maybe even all) of their day to standing on street corners, asking passersby to purchase a newspaper for Kid’s Day. However, few can understand the impact of what this fundraiser means to the Children’s Hospital of Central California and its patients.

Savannah Gomes, a sophomore at Fresno State majoring in psychology, is a continuing patient of Children’s Hospital after being diagnosed with cancer back in 2007.

In her junior year of high school, Gomes was admitted to the ER when a mass was discovered in her sinus cavity. She was diagnosed on Dec. 4 and began starting chemotherapy nine days later. She was only 16 years old.

Gomes was on the varsity cheer team at Sierra High School, caught up in the norms of teenage life when she found out she had cancer. She recalls being lucky for having friends and family to support her early on, but when months passed and the experience was no longer “new”, visits became less frequent.

“When friends are gone and it starts becoming routine, you get discouraged,” she said.

She began to feel the effects of her treatments, such as nausea, vomiting and hair loss, and described it as being the most difficult and lonely time. Her mother, Sharon Gomes, was proud of how her daughter handled the circumstances.

“She kept our whole family strong,” her mother said. “From day one, she and I agreed: ‘no tears.’ It was a job and we had to get it done.”

Gomes ended up missing the last half of her junior year and the first half of her senior year of high school. She would receive new treatments every two weeks and described the last nine months as the most difficult time.

“It was close to the end, but not close enough to look forward to anything yet,” Gomes said.

On September 15, 2008, Gomes had her last treatment. She returns every 6 months for check-up scans and will have to continue doing so at least once a year for the rest of her life.

Gomes and her mother are thankful for the care she received and continues to receive as a patient of Children’s Hospital.

“They not only become the people who take care of you…they pretty much become a part of your life,” Gomes said, referring to the physicians and nurses who treated her, some of which were mothers of children with cancer or survivors themselves.

Dr. J. Daniel Ozeran is Gomes’ pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital. According to Ozeran, The Craycroft Cancer Center at Children’s Hospital sees approximately 120 to 140 newly diagnosed patients each year.

“If you look at the number of kids diagnosed, about three-fourths will be cured of their cancers,” Ozeran said. “Oncology is just a portion, though. Granted we are a great busy service, there are so many other services in the hospital that need support.”

Ozeran said that programs such as Kid’s Day help with fundraising and awareness.

“The great thing about Children’s Hospital is that no child gets turned away, regardless of whether or not they have the financial means to pay for treatment,” he said.

Gomes’ mother is hopeful that the Kid’s Day event will be able to further support the treatment and services for patients such as her daughter.

“I used to be one of the people to ask ‘So what exactly do they do with that money?’” Gomes’ mother said. “But a lot of kids go through there on a day-to-day basis. The oncology office sees about 30 to 40 kids a day and there is hardly any room.”

Gomes is supportive of Kid’s Day as well, and actually recalls having been in the hospital one year when the event took place.

“It really makes the kids who are there feel good,” she said. “People came to visit and show their support. It’s good to know that people out there care about what it is that you’re going through.”

Gomes is currently a camp counselor for a summer program in Huntington Lake for children diagnosed with cancer as well as a peer mentor for kids at the clinic. She ultimately hopes to become a child psychologist and work at St. Jude Children’s Hospital.