Marshall native
raising childhood
cancer awarness

By Jody Norwood
Tribune-Courier News Editor
jnorwood@tribunecourier.com

MARSHALL COUNTY – Heroes never give up the fight. One year after losing his battle to Burkitt’s Lymphoma, Eric Tolbert’s fight continues.

Tolbert, 4, was diagnosed with cancer in December last year shortly after moving from Marshall County to Florida with his mother, Kristina Gregory, and brother Ethan. He died June 5, just one week before his fifth birthday.

Eric’s father, Matthew Tolbert, has continued to work raising awareness for pediatric cancer. Earlier this month, Gov. Steve Beshear acknowledged December as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Kentucky after being contacted by Tolbert.

“These kids are superheroes,” Tolbert said. “I always called Eric my little superhero. He never complained. He never questioned why. He always had a smile on his face. He just fought. All these kids fight.”

Eric’s name remains on window stickers as a way to help raise awareness. The stickers include a Batman symbol, an homage to Eric’s favorite hero.

Matthew said it is fitting, but coincidental, that the caped crusader was his son’s favorite hero.

“The one thing about Batman was that he wasn’t special. He was a man, just with special toys,” Tolbert said. “I relate that to Eric quite a bit. He was just a child faced with adversity we could barely begin to imagine, but he went out there to fight. Whatever strength they have, they put it on and they fight it.”

Tolbert has continued efforts to raise awareness since his son’s passing.

“September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,” Tolbert said. “It’s not very well recognized, like Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is October. I emailed Gov. Steve Beshear and a member of his staff recognized my frustration and called me back. She said that she would make sure a proclamation was done to make one month this year Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.”

Tolbert was sent a copy of the proclamation Dec. 21, which had been signed Dec. 8. The goal of the proclamation is to raise awareness about childhood cancer to help generate private and federal funding for research.

Childhood cancer is one of the most common causes of disease-related fatalities among children in the United States with more than 10,730 children under 14 years of age diagnosed each year. More than 40,000 children in the U.S. are currently being treated for cancer, with one out of every five ending in death for the patient.

According to the American Cancer Society, childhood cancer occurrence has increased since 1975, but the mortality rate has decreased.

Fundraising for research and treatment centers continues to try and reduce those numbers further, as well as provide comforts for those suffering from the disease. After experiencing the effects of those efforts first hand, Tolbert said he wanted to try and help.

“I took a load of toys this year to St. Jude, a lot of toys Eric was supposed to get last year for Christmas,” Tolbert said. Tolbert said others in the community had also donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The money from a memorial fund established in Eric’s name had been used to purchase many of the $500 in toys.

“Instead of flowers for Eric’s funeral, I took the funds out of there for the St. Jude’s toys,” Tolbert said. “I kept the account open if people wanted to donate money to help. Next year, it may not be St. Jude. There are children’s hospitals all across the U.S.”

“It’s just a joy,” Tolbert said. “When I went down to St. Judes I didn’t know how I was going to react. Even though Eric was treated in Florida, it brought back a lot of memories. But it was also very comforting to do this.”

While Eric’s battle is over, his father said it’s up to all of us to continue the fight to end childhood cancer.

“I was as blind as everybody else,” Tolbert said. “There were probably several times (before Eric’s diagnosis) I could have given a dollar to St. Jude or something else. It really doesn’t hit you until it hits home.”

For more information on donations or research services, visit www.stjude.org, www.curesearch.org, www.candlelighters.org or www.cancer.org.

The Eric Tolbert Memorial Fund remains open at Community Financial Services Bank. Tolbert said he hopes to continue using the account to make donations to other childhood cancer services. Donations may be made at P.O. Box 467, Benton, KY 42025-0467.