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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 3, 2009 · 18 Daffodil Days are here this weekend Daffodils will be the order of the day Saturday, April 4 at the Price Chopper at Third Line and Dundas Street. That's because 11-year-old cancer survivor Lindsay Shanks and her U11 Girls Oakville Rep Soccer teammates will be selling daffodils in support of the Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville Unit. The event, which begins at 9 a.m., was the team coach's Stephen Armstrong's initiative. The community-based Cancer Society aims to eradicate cancer and enhance quality of life for people of all ages living with this condition. Lindsay was only 18 months old when she triumphed over a diagnosis of neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma, the second most common type of cancer in infants, attacks the major organs of the body, including bone marrow. Not quite two dozen children a year in Canada are diagnosed and it's terminal in children over five. Lindsay was 18 months old when she went in remission after a grueling series of chemotherapy treatments that took place over eight months. Lindsay learned to walk and talk despite the aggressive chemotherapy she was undergoing and after going into remission, was placed on a two-year watch. She then got into a catch-up growth spurt and got on with the challenge of being a todcer and the Oakville Skating Club for many years. "Even without full vision in her right eye and with one kidney (caused by the tumours/neuroblastoma) she has been playing soccer with Oakville Soccer since she was five and has been figure skating also from a very early age. She is a great competitor and excels in all her sports," said her dad Andrew. "We are so pleased she will be helping sell daffodils for the Cancer Society," said her mom Jo. It runs in the family however. Lindsay's older brother Nicholas, who was five at the time when Lindsay's treatment triggered the remission, did door-to-door canvassing in his sister's name for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children telethon. The arrival of April not only signals spring, but also the Canadian Cancer Society's Daffofdil Days and Residential Canvass campaigns. Daffodil Days began Thursday and continues to Sunday, April 5. Bunches of daffodils are available for $7 or two for $12. Volunteers, like Lindsay and her soccer teammates, will be selling the blooms at grocery stores, LCBO stores and other retail stores in Oakville. Also this month, the Residential Canvass will see hundreds of volunteers knocking on doors across town in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. For more information, call the Oakville Unit at 905-845-5231. RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER BREATH OF SUNSHINE: T.A. Blakelock High School students joined Mayor Rob Burton for the official raising of the Canadian Cancer Society flag at Town Hall to declare April as daffodil Month in Oakville. From left, Stephanie Bass, Volunteer Engagement Co-ordinator, Don Abma, chair of the residential campaign, Burton, Lisa Moffatt, fundraising co-ordinator of the Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville Unit, Kevin Caughlin, principal of Blakelock, Marg Poitras of the Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville Unit, Luisa Roch, head of Blakelock's Student Services, Sandy McDonald of the Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville Unit and Kathy MacDonald of Blakelock's Parent Council. dler -- the tough stuff like potty training. In the intervening years, Lindsay has indeed gone about being a kid. She is now a Grade 5 student at Eastview Public School. According to her parents, Jo and Andrew Shanks, she has been active in Oakville soc- Solving Problems s P lu BBQ GAS LINES Experience is the difference! NATURAL GAS PRICING FOR DYERS, KITCHEN RANGES, UNDER GROUND PIPING FOR POOL HEATERS, PATIO GAS HEATERS, PATIO FIREPLACE. Since 1982 905-845-0701 Email:scott@gasfix.ca