metro >> mentsh of the month

'Manis4Mitzvah'

Cousin's cancer death sparks
manicure fundraiser for research.

Stacy Gittleman
I Contributing Writer

W

hen Alexandra Mison of
Commerce Township became
a bat mitzvah at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield on Nov. 14,
her dvar Torah discussed the similarities
between the biblical Sarah and her late
cousin, Julia Cobb.
Alexandra found parallels between the
127-year lifespan of the biblical matri-
arch and the short eight-year lifespan
of Cobb, her cousin from Alabama who
passed away from Ewing's sarcoma last
October.
Both endured difficult lives yet main-
tained a positive outlook. Both left
behind a legacy of strength. In her dvar
Torah, Alexandra also talked of the
urgent need to fund research specifically
aimed at childhood cancers.
Alexandra did have some fond memo-
ries of spending time with her cousin,

though she passed away very young
and lived far away. Nearly three years
ago, Alexandra's mother, Julie, said she
moved heaven and Earth" to spend
Thanksgiving in Alabama with her hus-
band's family — a sister, brother-in-law
and four children.
The cousins had a great time bonding
and making Thanksgiving arts and crafts.
Two weeks later, after finding a strange
lump by her shoulder blade, young Julia
was diagnosed with a rare form of bone
cancer called Ewing's sarcoma.
"That Thanksgiving was a very special
time, the last time when all the cousins
saw each other when Julia was healthy:'
Julie said.
In honor of Julia's memory and
Pediatric Cancer Month in September,
Alexandra raised nearly $1,000 for pediat-
ric cancer research at a "Manis4Mitzvah"
manicure fundraiser hosted by Studio A
Dance in Walled Lake.
A self-taught nail artist who fre-

"

Alexandra Mison, left, and her team do nails for her "Manis4Mitzvah" fundraiser for
pediatric cancer research.

quently posts her designs to Instagram,
Alexandra, along with a few of her
friends, spent an afternoon last month
giving manicures and handing out litera-
ture about the urgency of finding new
treatments for children with cancer.
The money will be donated to the
JuCan Foundation, a nonprofit organiza-
tion started by Julia's parents who named
it for Julia's nickname "Ju."
According to the foundation's website,
cancer is the leading cause of death in
children. Nearly 40,000 children are diag-
nosed with cancer each year. The average
age of death for a child with cancer is 8.

The National Cancer Institute spends less
than 4 percent of its budget on pediatric
cancer research.
Julia's mother and father, himself a
cancer survivor, have both lost parents
to cancer. The Cobbs began a multi-city
"Disneyland to Disneyworld" walking
tour in August raising money and aware-
ness for pediatric cancer research.
Visiting both parks was a dream
come true for Julia, who passed away
in an Orlando hospital during a visit to
Walt Disney World. For details on the
foundation and the walk, go to www.
jucanfoundation.org.

❑

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20

November 20 • 2014

