Thursday, January 3, 2008

The War on Cancer

After many years of moving around like a band of gypsies, Camp Good Days and Special Times cut the ribbon on our very own Recreational Facility, on the shores of Keuka Lake, in Branchport, New York, in 1989. During the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, one of the attendees asked me what I wanted to do next…I replied that I wanted to close Camp Good Days, as I truly believed that at some point, during my lifetime, the answers that had been alluding us in the battle against cancer would be found. I believed that parents would no longer have to go against the laws of nature, as my family and I had to do, and bury their children. Since starting Camp Good Days 29 years ago, I have been to more funerals than most people, with the exception of clergy members.

Yet, 29 years later, we still do not have the answers. Unfortunately, my wish, to see those questions answered during my lifetime, is not likely to come true. The advances that have come about can not be credited to new, more effective drugs or compounds to be used in our battle against cancer, but rather on lifestyle changes, the most beneficial being eliminating smoking.

It is time that this country woke up and took a hard look at the way that money is spent, under the umbrella of cancer research. We need, as Dr. Sidney Farber wanted many years ago, a highly coordinated, concentrated effort. Not one that is parochial and sporadic.

Donald S. Coffey, who served as President of the American Association for Cancer Research once said, “If we really want to defend against the terrorism of cancer; we need to attack it with a real war effort.” Cancer is terrorism…brought against our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and too often, our children.

The war our country is fighting overseas, the war on terror, is one in which we can’t identify our opponent, we don’t know who or where they are, yet this effort has been given a blank check and millions and millions of our dollars are going towards this fight. We can increase our security measures, but we can’t make a targeted attack on terror.

This in no way translates into disrespect or lack of support for the brave men and women who put their life on the line everyday, serving our country. In fact, Camp Good Days has been an ardent supporter of those in military service and their families, providing a special program, Operation Blue Skies, for those children who have a parent serving with the US Military in conflicts overseas.

Unlike the war on terror, cancer is an enemy that the majority of us will face personally, whether it is our own diagnosis or that of a family member, friend, or colleague.






Cancer as the enemy…

If you are 85 or younger, cancer is the leading cause of death in this country.

One out of every two men and one out of every three women will face a cancer diagnosis at some point in their life.

Everyday, 1500 Americans are dying from this disease, which not only takes your life prematurely, but oftentimes seems to have to humiliate you in the process.

Deaths from cancer are as if one of the twin towers is falling every single day, 365 days a year.

If you factor in inflation, the amount of money going to the National Cancer Institute to fight this disease has been reduced two years in a row.

Only one out of every 10 cancer grant applications is funded.

The number of post-doctorate fellows doing cancer research has been reduced and the budget for clinical trials has been reduced anywhere from 5-8%.

If you are between the ages of 30 and 70 and you find a lump or you see your doctor because you are not feeling well and they send you for additional tests, if you are honest with yourself, when you close your eyes that night, you are far more afraid of being diagnosed with cancer than you are of being a victim of a terrorist attack.

Cancer is an enemy that touches all of us, whether directly or indirectly and an enemy that this year will kill 600,000 of our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and in far too many cases, such as my own, our children.

No comments: