Poseys join fight against pediatric cancer

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants catcher Buster Posey and his wife, Kristen, announced plans Wednesday to spearhead efforts to raise money for research and awareness of pediatric cancer.
Speaking to a throng of reporters before San Francisco's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Posey talked passionately and emotionally about his desire to help young children with cancer, pointing out that government funding covers only 4 percent of the money needed for research.
"It's not acceptable," Posey said as he sat at a table with his wife, Giants president and CEO Larry Baer and New Era president and CEO Chris Koch. "We said we've got to do something. We can't sit here and talk about how bad this, we've got to try to help."
At one point Posey choked back tears as he talked about Cannon Wiggins, a 4-year-old who had recently been diagnosed with neuroblastoma. The Poseys, who have 3-year-old twins, learned of Cannon's condition through a chance meeting between Kristen Posey and Melissa Wiggins, Cannon's mother, and decided to get involved almost immediately.
"I had no idea the lack of funding that [pediatric cancer] receives," Kristen Posey said. "Once I found that out, I did not want to sit back and do nothing. That's easy to do. It's not all smiling children without hair. What they go through is torture, and we want to do something."

Posey echoed his wife's feelings.
"We're parents," he said. "Any time your child is sick, if it's a cold or if they get a scratch or whatever it is, it's hard. It just really hit home with us."
The three-time All-Star and 2012 National League MVP wore a special-edition Buster Posey Pediatric Cancer Awareness 9Forty baseball cap bearing the Giants team logo and a cancer awareness ribbon. The cap, unveiled by New Era, will go on sale to the public with proceeds going to support treatment and research.

Posey said his wife will spearhead the efforts to raise money for research and help spread awareness of pediatric cancer.
"Families are going to identify with my name and what I do for a living but moms are going to identify with her," Posey said. "The main thing we want to come from this is awareness, we want to raise some money and we want to be there. We want to be a bright spot in these kids' and these families' day."
The Poseys, along with the Giants and ESPN college basketball announcer Dick Vitale, will host a fundraiser at AT&T Park on Sept. 14, with proceeds going to The V Foundation and pediatric cancer programs in the Bay Area.
"This is a big deal for the Giants organization," Baer said. "We believe that any time a player and his family comes to us with a passion for a cause, a cause as important as this one is ... it's going to be a very important priority for the Giants organization."