Walk into a room full of people and try to find something you all have in common. I’m sure you would automatically resort to the typical icebreaker questions and begin comparing names, birth dates, hometowns, favorite sport teams and colors. Of course you’ll find a few people that coincidentally share some of your biographical information, but the chances of everyone in that space having an identical set of facts is slim to none. However, bring up the word “cancer” and I’m positive you will have found what you all share. Double, triple, multiply the amount of people in that room by any number and I know the result will be the same. We are all linked by one diagnosis, one disease, one word: cancer.
Cancer has many tests. On the medical side: doctors and scientists work countless hours to find a cure, relieve the pain, and prescribe adequate treatments. On the home front: how do you comfort someone when your world seems to have completely fallen apart? As the patient: you are challenged mentally, physically, and spiritually every day. But the likeliness of overcoming each test increases with perseverance, endurance, and hope.
While each story we could share would inevitably be different, they originate at the same place—with someone receiving the life-altering news “You have cancer.” Three words. So simple. But at the same time so complex. Whether you’re the patient, the doctor, a relative, a friend, or an acquaintance, relaying that news will never be an easy feat.
In 2012 alone, an estimated 1,638,910 new cases of cancer were predicted to be diagnosed in the United States and unfortunately 577,190 American cancer patients were expected to lose their fight against cancer last year. It is important to remember that these statistics are more than just numbers. Each data entry is a life: a mother, father, grandparent, sibling, spouse, best friend, classmate, neighbor, co-worker, the list goes on and on, but it needs to stop.
That’s where I come in. I am refusing to let these numbers continue to grow—to exist at all. I personally believe with enough support we can wipe out cancer. Through fundraising, educating, and simply caring for those affected, we can begin eliminating the horrible effects of cancer one person at a time.
Cancer has many tests. On the medical side: doctors and scientists work countless hours to find a cure, relieve the pain, and prescribe adequate treatments. On the home front: how do you comfort someone when your world seems to have completely fallen apart? As the patient: you are challenged mentally, physically, and spiritually every day. But the likeliness of overcoming each test increases with perseverance, endurance, and hope.
While each story we could share would inevitably be different, they originate at the same place—with someone receiving the life-altering news “You have cancer.” Three words. So simple. But at the same time so complex. Whether you’re the patient, the doctor, a relative, a friend, or an acquaintance, relaying that news will never be an easy feat.
In 2012 alone, an estimated 1,638,910 new cases of cancer were predicted to be diagnosed in the United States and unfortunately 577,190 American cancer patients were expected to lose their fight against cancer last year. It is important to remember that these statistics are more than just numbers. Each data entry is a life: a mother, father, grandparent, sibling, spouse, best friend, classmate, neighbor, co-worker, the list goes on and on, but it needs to stop.
That’s where I come in. I am refusing to let these numbers continue to grow—to exist at all. I personally believe with enough support we can wipe out cancer. Through fundraising, educating, and simply caring for those affected, we can begin eliminating the horrible effects of cancer one person at a time.
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