Monday, December 1, 2008

When author Jeannie Ralston found out that her two-year-old nephew had a rare bone cancer, she thought, ?I have to do something to help.? Now through sales of her new book, she has found that something.

A percentage of each copy of The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming (Doubleday) sold through her website will be donated during the month of December to CureSearch (www.curesearch.org), a nonprofit organization that exclusively supports the work of the Children?s Oncology Group, the world?s premier pediatric cancer research collaborative.

Ralston is implementing what she calls The Seed Campaign on her website, www.jeannieralston.com, through the Amazon Affiliate program. Each time someone purchases The Unlikely Lavender Queen at her website, Amazon will return a commission to The Seed Campaign fund, which in turn will be donated to CureSearch in Jacob Ralston?s name.

?I want to do what I can to make sure that no other children and no other families have to go through the trauma and stress all of us in our extended family felt during Jacob?s illness,? says Ralston. ?I think that would be the best Christmas present children could receive.?

In August 2007, Jacob Ralston was diagnosed with a spinal ewing?s sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. After surgery to remove the tumor, he underwent 25 proton beam treatments at MD Anderson in Houston and 14 rounds of chemo at Children?s Hospital of the King?s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, near Jacob?s home in Virginia Beach. Currently Jacob?s scans show no sign of reoccurrence. ?We pray every day that the scans remain clear,? says Ralston.

Ralston?s brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Susan Ralston, have actively promoted CureSearch?s efforts and are forming their own non-profit to raise awareness about the benefits of proton therapy for children with cancer.

?We are grateful to Jeannie Ralston for her efforts to support childhood cancer research,? says Stacy Pagos Haller, Executive Director of CureSearch. ?What a wonderful tribute to Jacob and all children diagnosed with cancer, now and in future generations. Together, we can reach the day when every child is guaranteed a cure.?

The Unlikely Lavender Queen follows Ralston as she reluctantly goes from a journalist in Manhattan to a lavender farmer in rural Texas. Eventually, Ralston turns the lavender farm into a thriving business and her small town into the Lavender Capital of Texas. She comes to embrace the change as the most rewarding adventure of her life, demonstrating truly how to ?bloom where you?re planted.?

?Good Morning America? has recommended The Unlikely Lavender Queen as a great read, as have publications as diverse as the Dallas Morning News and Fortune Small Business magazine.

For more information on The Unlikely Lavender Queen and The Seed Campaign, visit www.jeannieralston.com.

About CureSearch

CureSearch seeks to conquer childhood cancer, conquer it sooner, conquer it fully and for all time. Through public education, advocacy and fundraising, the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c) (3), exclusively supports the work of the Children?s Oncology Group (COG), the world?s premier pediatric cancer research collaborative. This network of more than 5,000 healthcare professionals dedicates their lives to finding answers and sharing results. More than 12,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and more than 40,000 children and adolescents are currently in treatment. Only research cures cancer. For more information, visit www.CureSearch.org.