On Nov. 9 at 1:44 p.m., after a 22-month, 29-day struggle against cancer, Jordan Scott Paganelli passed away. The valiant young man died the way he wanted; surrounded by family and loved ones, at home and at peace.

According to the Web site, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jordanpaganelli, Memorial services will be held this Saturday, Nov. 14 at St John’s Church on St John’s Road in Hollywood; the day he would have turned 18-years old.

“We anticipate the service(s) to start at 11 a.m., however, that time may move slightly once we begin the planning process. A reception will follow immediately in the adjacent auditorium. We’ll update/confirm in the next day or two,” states the family on the Web site.
 
In posts to Jordan’s tribute site, the young man requested that there be no dress code for the service.

“He wanted people to have the choice to wear something of their own choosing: formal attire, casual attire, or one of the many different JP T-shirts. Most of us will be in our “TEAM JP” T-shirts and I anticipate all of his friends to be wearing their JP T-shirts as well. Standby for a sea of black, red, lime-green, and dark-green T-Shirts,” states the family.

“Jordan told us to have a ‘fun’ reception full of music, pictures, smiles, and laughter.  He told us to make all the events a Celebration Life, not a sad remembrance,” the family continued.   

In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family asks that that people forward any donations to the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.

“Jordan’s hope was that someday a cure would be found for his deadly form of cancer and that no other child would have to suffer his fate,” states the family

The simple, sad truth is that despite the tremendous amount of money invested for “cancer” research Sarcoma research gets very little of the overall funding at less that three percent  

According to Jordan’s Web page, His fight began on Jan. 11, 2008 when he was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma stage IV. Rhabdomyosarcoma – Alveolar subtype is a very aggressive, highly malignant soft-tissue Sarcoma which arises in undifferentiated muscle cells anywhere in the body.

It is considered one of the most aggressive childhood cancers; however, it strikes adults and teens as well. The disease strikes at least 350 children in the U.S. each year.
 
Unlike more common cancers, ARMS is considered rare and thus receives minimal outside funding for research, causing the 5 year survival rate to be low. The aggressive cancer often spreads to other areas of the body by the time a diagnosis is determined. When a disease spreads, it is labeled a “meta-static” disease.

The 5 year survival rate for ARMS patients whose disease have become meta-static is approximately 20 percent. Rhabdomyosarcoma accounts for approximately 3.5 percent of cancer cases diagnosed in children aged 0 to 14 years and 2 percent of cases among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 19 years.

Jordan’s treatment plan consists of a 54-week compressed Chemotherapy protocol called ARST0431 along with 6 weeks of Radiation Therapy. When every medical option had been exhausted, the young man knew his fate and decided that he would rather be at home where he died surrounded by love and at peace.

“Due to the sheer number of Jordan supporters, we are looking at options to have some type of ‘public service’ that can accommodate a very large crowd,” stated the family. “We are looking at options for a