Stand Up To Cancer

When I was a kid, it seemed like cancer was an automatic death sentence. Now, however, we all know people who are currently living with the disease. But those of us who have lost loved ones in the modern era still understand how deadly this diagnosis can be.

The mission statement for Stand Up To Cancer points out this very fact.

For the first time we can envision the possibility of stopping cancer in its tracks. But just when science is on the verge of giving us the breakthroughs that can end cancer, the will and the funding to do so are disappearing from the national agenda and from our collective consciousness.

I was nine when my beloved Aunt Jen discovered she had breast cancer. She was beautiful, funny and sweet... the type of person everybody loved. Tragically, she lost her fight with the "C" word. Several years later, her only son-- my cousin Bobby-- died from leukemia. He was a high school football star who joined the Navy after graduation. He never made it to his 21st birthday.

Since then I have known people who have survived cancer and have mourned friends and loved ones who didn't. But I think it's those early losses that have affected me the most.

My Aunt Jen and cousin Bobby should still be here. Let's stop this disease from taking any more good people.