It’s that time of year again…or rather, it should always be that time of year.  It’s time we start thinking about how the #2 killer in the world has affected us.  I’m talking about Cancer.  I capitalize the word because I feel it makes it more important, it makes it stand out in a sentence:  Cancer.  It’s a dirty word, it should be spelled with only four letters and it should have no less meaning or infamy than the F-dash-dash-dash word.  Where my comparison falls short, however, is that unlike the dirty words, we should talk about Cancer.  We should talk about it, and we should talk about it frequently.  We cannot hide from Cancer and pretend that it doesn’t exist.  Because Cancer doesn’t care, and it will find you if you’re on it’s list.  So let’s get real for a moment and let’s talk Cancer.  And yes, I am banging on the LIVESTRONG drum, but I believe they are on the right track.  I am hopefully going to pass along some basic information, and then I’m going to ask for some help in the form of a small donation request.  But I’ll save that for last.

Everything You Thought Is Wrong…

Cancer is a killer, and I don’t want to make light of that fact.  There are a great number of cases where the end result is, sadly, predictable:  Cancer can be a death sentence.  But there are a lot of cases where Cancer is not a death sentence.  If caught early, there are treatments for many strains of the horrible disease.  The catch is that many of these treatments require early action.  Many types of Leukemia, for example, have viable and effective treatments if treatment is started early enough.  Breast Cancer, Testicular Cancer, Ovarian Cancer…these are all types that have some significant success rates when treatment is started within a small window.  Unfortunately, the success rates are halved, or worse, when they are caught later.  That’s bad, and that hurts us all in terms of statistics.

The problem is simply that we are not always catching these cases early.  Quite frankly, sometimes the case is that we simply don’t have the technology to detect some strains early enough.  We’re working to correct that, but as we all know, research can be slow.  In many cases, the onus is on the physicians and even the patient themselves for discovering the Cancer.  But the physicians can only do so much if the patient is not doing their part.  The patient needs to be aware of their own body, they need to be getting the right tests done at the right times, and they need to be aware of their family history.

But it’s not the patient’s fault either.

The Solution:  Education and Support

This is where LIVESTRONG comes in.  There are a lot of great Cancer (or should I say, Anti-Cancer) organizations out there and they all do a great job.  As far as I am concerned, no one can throw too much money at working towards a end-all-be-all cure for Cancer.  But I have aligned myself with the LIVESTRONG Organization for one simple reason:  Education and support.  Let’s start with the simple fact that there are a great number of types of Cancer that can – as I have said – be cured or at least controlled effectively if caught early.  The problem is that the average person simply does not know how, and very often the tests are not administered effectively.  They aren’t getting the education they need, nor are they getting the support they need from their physicians and their health insurance.  These are things that LIVESTRONG is working to change.

One major part of LIVESTRONG‘s program is simply education.  They are working to educate the general public about testing and preventative measures that each and every one of us can take.  That alone will lead to improved detection and care, and it will hopefully reduce the number of victims.  Their education outreach programs are a huge part of that.  And they aren’t working alone.  Knowing full well that we stand a better chance as a team, LIVESTRONG works with a number of programs all across the world – like Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, the YMCA, the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, public and private schools and so on.  Hopefully, such education will have a tremendous impact in and of itself.

On a higher level, LIVESTRONG has been working to get better support to the would-be patients through political means.  They have worked with and lobbied a great number of governments all around the world to help instate or improve healthcare provisions for preventative measures with respect to Cancer.  To be blunt, insurance providers rarely cover all necessary preventative measures needed to detect many strains of cancer.  And when the money comes out of one’s own pockets, they’re likely not going to pay for the tests themselves.  Case and point:  My mother died of Renal Cell Carcinoma, better known as Kidney Cancer.  It’s a potentially hereditary strain, so there’s a chance I could get it.  The best test to detect it’s development, a soft tissue scan, is pretty expensive.  Another viable test is a simple Ultrasound, but many insurance  providers won’t pay for either test until it pops up on a blood test.  That’s too late…if it’s popping up on a blood test, then it may be too late for effective treatment.  Well, LIVESTRONG is working to change that through it’s political involvement.  You would be surprised as to how much effort and money that requires.

And that serves as a nice transition into…

You Can Help!

I am part of Team LIVESTRONG which works to raise money for the organization.  This money inevitably goes on to help fund the many programs that LIVESTRONG is a part of – some of which are their own, many of which are other organizations working towards a common goal.  For my part, I wear the yellow cap and do my best to pass on that which I have learned and of course I also help to raise money.  This is charity, and I personally see nothing of the funds that are raised.  It is something that I believe in.  It is an organization that I have grown to love and trust, and I will continue to do my best to raise money for LIVESTRONG into the unforeseeable future.

This summer, I am once again participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge Philly this coming August, which will be my fourth year participating.  I will be running a 10k run as a symbol of my dedication, and I have set a personal goal to raise $2,500 USD.  As of this writing, I have already raised $470, but I have a very long way to go.  Unlike many similar events, The Challenge Series does not need to make up any overhead costs thanks to our great sponsors like Nike, AMD, Nissan, Radioshack and so on.  In other words, that means any money raised through the Challenge Series – all 100% of it – will go on to LIVESTRONG’s programs.  So there’s no reason to hesitate or question that your donation is going to help.

And so if you would like to sponsor me, I ask that you visit my fundraising page and offer a small donation:  A Dollar, five dollars…whatever you can spare.  Not a single penny will go unnoticed or unappreciated.  So I ask that you offer what you can spare as it will all go a very long way.

To sponsor me and benefit LIVESTRONG, please VISIT MY FUNDRAISING PAGE!

That said, while I would love for you to sponsor me, I ultimately want to benefit the 28 million worldwide who are facing Cancer right now.  So if you don’t sponsor me, specifically, please donate some money to another organization or fundraiser working towards a similar goal.  It all makes an impact, and I can’t fault you for that.