Golfers can take a swing at childhood cancer, in honor of a young Effingham County patient.

The Drive Against Childhood Cancer Sam Giordano Golf Tournament will be held Saturday at Crosswinds Golf Club, with proceeds going toward medical expenses for the 4-year-old Rincon boy.

Giordano, who goes to daycare at First Baptist Church of Rincon, wasn’t ailing when he had an allergic reaction to some shots, said his aunt, Robin Screen.

“He had a high fever and a couple of doctor visits,” she said. “They wanted to track down why he had a high fever.”

Doctors discovered he had leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in fact.

“They caught it early,” Screen said. “It is curable.”

Giordano, who will turn 5 next month, was getting weekly chemotherapy treatment for about two months, and doctors have scaled that back to every two weeks. Giordano has been receiving treatment at The Children’s Hospital at Memorial University Medical Center.

Giordano’s contact with the outside world also has been limited.

“He’s very aware of what is going on,” Screen said. “He can’t be around a lot of germs because his immune system is down.”

But the medical expenses for the family are large, Screen said.

“The family has very high medical bills over their insurance coverage,” she said.

The golf tourney registration will start at 10:30, with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place, and there also will be a putting contest, closest to the pin and longest drive awards.

Local businesses also have donated for door prize giveaways and raffles to be held with the tournament.

“The local businesses have really outdone themselves,” Screen said.

For more information, email Screen at rscreen3@bellsouth.net.