Lion King star Shannon Tavarez has died of cancer at age 11 after a lengthy battle with Leukemia. Tavarez touched pop stars Rihanna and Alicia Keys and sparked a nationwide search for a bone-marrow match that ultimately never came to fruition.
Shannon Tavarez came to fame for her performance in the Lion King as a budding Broadway star. Her battle with Leukemia attracted the attention of both Rihanna and Keys, according to a Yahoo! report.
Keys and Rihanna were among the most vocal in Tavarez's search for a bone-marrow match, and thanks in large part to the celebrity participation more than 8,000 people ultimately signed up as donors.
Unfortunately, no match was found.
It's a sad day when any young person loses a battle with such a crippling disease, regardless of whether or not the victim is a celebrity. But the potential upside to stories like those about Shannon Tavarez and her battle with Leukemia is the spotlight it sheds on the issue.
Keys and Rihanna are already involved, and if the Tavarez story inspires anyone else around the world to donate money or time or anything at all to help those in need, it should be considered a positive.
In the end, Shannon Tavarez had a life cut way too short by a terrible disease. But that doesn't mean she can't leave a legacy that lasts years longer.
Let's hope that's the case.
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 2
Again, I share your hope that this talented and adorable little girl's death will spur more people to get tested--it's really as simple as a cheek swab (or blood sample), according to the National Marrow Donor Program here--if you can. Also, a myth about donation is that it always involves surgery. According to the registry here, it does not always involve surgery and does not typically involve a long recovery.
Other strategies that can help children and adults afflicted with cancer are blood donation, including cord blood donation if you're a woman giving birth; funding research with a dollar here and there when you can (the cost of adding a person to the registry is said to be $100); not blocking research and science, as with stem cells but also other research at cancer centers and research bodies worldwide; and keeping this issue in the limelight long past the immediate, saddening news of Shannon's untimely death. We have all already seen the enemy that knows no color, "race," religion, or age--cancer--now let's unite to fight it!