More Than a Donation — From a CHS Cancer Survivor

Editor's Note: The following article appeared in the June 2011- Volume 99, Issue 5 edition ofThe Columbian, the student newspaper of Columbia High School.

By Emmy Abdill, Columbia High School Senior, The Columbian Staff Writer

Four years ago, Jake Silberg, ’11, had cancer. While receiving chemotherapy at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, Silberg remembered he would spend nights at the Ronald McDonald House in New York so he would not have to go all the way home just to return the next morning for another dose of medication. “The Ronald McDonald House is like a hotel for children being treated at any of the nearby hospitals that is really cheap for families,” said Silberg.

Silberg has been cancer-free for four years, but has returned regularly to the Ronald McDonald House to help others in the same position he was in before. Silberg and several of his friends have founded “Jake’s Cakes Against Cancer,” a charity program that makes pancakes for children going through treatment for cancer.

“We started Jake’s Cakes [Against Cancer] because of a piece of advice I got from my mentor, another cancer survivor named Weldon. He was giving me tips on coping with chemotherapy at Sloan-Kettering and said, ‘At the hospital you can ask for chocolate chip pancakes anytime, anyplace,’” said Silberg. “So whenever I was having a rough day of chemo, I always had chocolate chip pancakes to cheer me up.”

During his recovery from chemotherapy, Silberg and his friends would make pancakes at his house, with a variety that ranged from “s’mores pancakes with graham cracker flour and melted chocolate, to pina colada pancakes with shredded coconut and pineapple cooked in.”

While they enjoyed their pancakes at home, they wanted to make it more meaningful. After contacting the Ronald McDonald House, Silberg and his friends, including Ben Donald, ’11, Justin Block, ’11, and Alex Denk, ’11, have gone on to make pancakes weekly for the kids staying at the Ronald McDonald House, even getting Shop-Rite to sponsor their trips.

Although he graduated with the senior class this June, Silberg is far from done helping those with cancer. He hopes to continue Jake’s Cakes Against Cancer while at Harvard College, as there is a Ronald McDonald House in the Boston area. Silberg also has future ambitions of becoming a pediatric oncologist (a doctor specializing in diagnosing and treating children with cancer).

“I’m so glad we started this program,” said Silberg. “There are so many kids who spend more time with doctors than with friends while going through treatment for cancer, and it’s an amazing feeling to put a smile on their faces, even for just a second, and to know that I made a difference for them.”