Kids Kicking Cancer was founded by Rabbi/Professor Elimelech Goldberg, who is both a black belt in the martial arts and a father who lost his first child to cancer in 1983. He is also a Clinical Asst. Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Wayne State University Medical School. Rabbi G (as he is fondly called by his students) created the Kids Kicking Cancer program after serving for 12 years as the Director of a New York based summer camp for children with cancer. His experience in the martial arts, as a spiritual leader and as a parent who can identify with other parents facing serious disease, has provided him with remarkable insight into issues facing children and families with a diagnosis of cancer. Impact of a Cancer Diagnosis Children with cancer typically feel a tremendous loss of autonomy, control and personal identity. They are required to endure treatments that cause them to feel sick in order to heal. They are confronted with multiple fears, including mortality, hair loss, falling behind academically and socially, as well as many other issues that affect how they view their bodies, their lives and their destinies. Rather than allowing children to view themselves as victims of disease, KKC trains pediatric cancer patients to see themselves as capable and important participants in their own healing. The impact of this change in perception on the psychological and emotional outlook of the children is dramatic. Our Philosophy By focusing its program around the healing themes of martial arts training, KKC not only strengthens children physically, but also teaches them to tap into the inner light of their spiritual self - a focus that generates incredible power, energy and internal strength. The inner spirit or soul of each child is viewed as the defining element of the child, rather than the body or the tumor that has invaded the child's body. Instead of emphasizing all the things that pediatric cancer patients cannot do, KKC focuses on all the things they can do. The goal of KKC is to help children with serious disease to heal, while empowering them physically, spiritually and emotionally.