( CNN ) -- My son Cole died two and a half years ago from neuroblastoma , a common childhood cancer , after suffering through multiple surgeries , chemotherapy injections and painful radiation therapy . These treatments ( while standard for this type of cancer ) were so barbaric and horrifying I would not wish them on my worst enemy . Nor would I wish him or her to have to live with the image of their child experiencing their gruesome side effects . Cole was just 5 years old . He left behind my wife Michelle and I , a heartbroken twin brother named Troy and his loving big sister Tara . Our family has been devastated by this loss . I miss my son every second of every day . By talking to many other parents who have lost children to childhood cancer , I have come to understand that this pain will last until I am gone . A week before Cole died in our arms , he looked up at me and said , `` I 'm not going to grow up to be or do anything . '' Can you imagine hearing your child speak such words ? Fighting back tears , I promised my son he would do `` something big '' someday . For two years now I have been fighting around the clock to fulfill my promise to my son . I do this in hopes that greater awareness will lead to desperately needed funding and research , so children can receive more humane treatments and have a better chance of survival , with fewer future complications . Pediatric cancer kills more kids in the United States than any other disease . And more than 11,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year . Yet the National Cancer Institute devotes just 4 % of its budget toward pediatric cancer research . Surely these statistics speak of the dire need for increased funding to fight pediatric cancer . I began my mission to increase childhood cancer awareness in August 2012 . My dream was to see as much gold in September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month as there is pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month . The awareness generated by the breast cancer community has led to earlier detection , newer and improved treatments , and higher survival rates for those fighting breast cancer . I just wanted the same for kids fighting cancer . I started reaching out to officials at bridges , buildings and landmarks across the United States , asking that they light gold in September to help increase awareness . I was successful in getting many to agree : the Prudential Building , the Zakim Bridge and the TD Garden in Boston ; the battleship New Jersey and the Liberty Bridge in Greenville , South Carolina . Many others across the United States began to reach out to structures in their hometowns . Our movement to go gold in September even took root in countries such as Ireland , Australia , Canada and Switzerland . Last year , there was more gold displayed in September across the world than ever before , and we are just beginning . Please display gold this September to help shed light on the monster that afflicts so many of our children . Lighting gold is the first step toward greater awareness of childhood cancer -- awareness that will hopefully lead to increased funding , which will lead to more research , that will hopefully lead to a cure for all types of childhood cancer . But there is another reason to light gold : It helps to heal the hearts of parents such as myself who have lost children to cancer . It lets us know our children did not die in vain . It shows us our kids are not forgotten . My son received most of his treatments at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston . After my son died , I had a difficult time going back to Boston ; there were too many painful memories there . But last September , I returned to see many of the landmarks we had crossed and passed by so often illuminated with gold lights . I smiled , with tears streaming down my cheeks , looking at the buildings and bridges shining gold and thought : . You are doing `` something big '' Cole !
Tony Stoddard 's son Cole died at age 5 from neuroblastoma , a common childhood cancer . He was given the diagnosis of his disease when he was just 2 years old and has been in remission for over 20 years now. He 's asking buildings to light up with the color gold in honor of childhood cancer awareness .