Why Orange? Why the tiger lily?

If you google cancer awareness colors you will come up with an entire list of colors that represent different cancers or even different diseases. We are all familiar with pink as a symbol for breast cancer. When Kristen first became sick I picked up an orange bracelet from the gift shop that said that it symbolized leukemia. If you go out on the Internet and do some research you find that there is a lot of confusion on what color is for what. Because of the bracelet from MD Anderson we went with the orange. We figure since they fight cancer they were more in the know than a variety of websites.

So why the tiger lily? I can't find any reference to this as the official flower of leukemia. I have to assume that Kristen chose it because it is a beautiful orange flower. She wanted tiger lilies tattooed down her side to represent her battle. I was reading up on tiger lilies this morning and one fact struck me. Tiger Lily was the name of the leader of the indian tribe in Peter Pan. This made me pause. Just last week my mom shared with me that Kristen had told her she never wanted to grow up. It certainly makes you think. Tiger Lily in Peter Pan was kidnapped by Captain Hook and Smee in the hopes that she would reveal where Peter Pan's hideout was. Tiger Lily never betrayed Peter and there is a scene in the Walt Disney film that shows Peter dancing with Tiger Lily, to Wendy's jealousy. This fact made me laugh. Kristen would be just ornery enough to do that.