MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Reigning Miss West Virginia and Morgantown native, Tariane Graal attended the Monongalia County commission meeting Wednesday to bring a cancer awareness message home.
One of the families Graal brought to the meeting was Andrea Stevens and her son Benjamin. Benjamin was diagnosed with nueroblastoma in April of this year, he continues to fight the disease.
Graal, an educator took the cause of childhood cancer awareness up when a student of hers named Scarlet was diagnosed with children’s leukemia when she was three-years-old, now she has been cancer free for the last seven years.
Graal said,”If it weren’t for the help of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and people like us advocating for children who do not have a voice of their own she would not be back in second grade doing well and continuing to live her life as she did before she was diagnosed.”
She says that although her focus is children with leukemia, she is garnering support for all children battling cancer.
Graal also took time to promote the campaign,”Go Gold For Kids With Cancer.”
Graal said,”October is pink out month for breast cancer, but September needs to be let’s go all gold for childhood cancer and just for West Virginia University.”
The “Go Gold” effort was started by a group of parents in 1997.