Now let me preface this easily: I don't have cancer. That doesn't mean it has not affected my life in a way that is incomprehensible to me. It has taken my friends far too soon, and made role models in my life to fight with every ounce of strength they have. It has changed my life drastically, and it continues to every day. I am reminded of the disease that took one of my best friends at twelve years old. Little bits and pieces of everyday life are reminders that there are people in this world who fight that battle every day, often times not on the victorious side. As a society we overlook the terrible pain that these people live through. The constant sessions of chemotherapy, the countless hours of doctors appointments and the piles of bills they accumulate to receive the necessary medicine to live another day.
My best friend, Hope Fuller was going into her 7th grade year when she was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. DIPG is a form of cancer that is found in children more often than adults. The disease is responsible for the deaths of over 300 hundred cases every year in children under the age of 18. Most of these kids will not live for another year after their diagnosis. Only 20% will live past their 2 years of treatment.
Cancer takes 7.6 million lives every year according to the World Cancer Day of 2013. 4 million of those people die before the age of 70. 7.6 million people doesn't sound astounding in the large scheme of things, but let me break down what those numbers mean over time. Every year there are 3,994,560,000,000 minutes lost to cancer. With our combined efforts, we can begin to decrease that number, but just one voice won't do. We need a combined workforce that are willing to put in the countless hours to raise money for these diseases.
In my time at home and away at school, I have found that there are organizations out there that are willing to help those in need. My father works on a cancer committee in my hometown to throw an annual barn dance to raise money and awareness for cancer. At school my brothers in Tau Kappa Epsilon have performed many philanthropic events to raise money for St. Jude's. If you would like to aid in the effort of those in need, I would highly recommend donating to any form of cancer research.
This is a fight won or lost by the public, not the person with the disease. They have the physical fight ahead. We, as a public have the uphill battle of raising awareness for these diseases, and to make sure people who are diagnosed can say, "I beat cancer."
