This past weekend I was out doing an ALT Fundraiser with a special interest organization when a man came up to me and asked who/what we were fundraising for. I answered that we were raising money to help fight pediatric cancer. The man gave me a weird smirk and replied: "Cancer, that's a losing battle," and proceeded to walk away laughing. I don't think five words have ever made me tear up so fast. I didn't talk for a little while, wondering if I had heard him correctly. I had not been able to respond to him, even if he had stayed longer, I don't think I would have been able to reply because I was so upset, so here is my letter to the man who told me it was a losing battle:

Hello Sir,

I was truly at a loss for words when I heard your response to raising money in hopes of defeating pediatric cancer. It took me a bit of time to calm down and reflect on your words and I came to the conclusion that I feel sorry for you. I am so sorry that you have such a cynical outlook on life. I am sorry if something happened in your life to make you that way. I hope that you never had to deal with pediatric cancer, that you never had to witness a child struggling with the possibility of not growing up, of never getting to see the way their life would play out. I hope that you never had to talk to a parent who lost their child. I hope you have never had to speak to a child who suffered from cancer, a child whose life might be cut short. And, if you have spoken to any of these people, I hope that you understand what they are going through. I also hope that you learn the value of your words and the meaning of compassion. I hope that the next time you go to make a remark you reflect on your words first. I am lucky, I never had cancer and I never lost anyone to cancer but that doesn't mean that I don't know people who struggled with the disease. I really hope that the next time you see someone raising money/awareness for cancer you stop and think. I hope you think about the children who beat cancer, the ones that was able to overcome it and grow up to attend college and achieve their dreams. The ones that beat the disease but have many scars to show for it; the ones that struggle every day from a battle that took their childhood and made them grow too fast. I also hope you think of the children that didn't make, the ones that will never attend a prom, graduate high school, travel the world, or simply get to grow up; the ones whose dream will never get to be fulfilled. I hope you think of the parents who outlived their child, or the siblings that had to deal the loss of a member of the family. Finally, I hope that you see exactly why we raise money to one day rid the world of pediatric cancer. I hope that you realize why students spend hours doing fundraisers and why they spend exactly 46 hours standing. I hope that you see why we fight for a cure. And sir, I hope you realize exactly why we THON. We THON so one day there will be no parents who outlive their child, no sibling left feeling unwhole, no child growing up too fast and no man saying that "cancer is a losing battle."