Did you know that over $3 billion has been raised to help find a cure for cancer since 1985? That is almost $100 million dollars a year (RFL)! Have you ever wondered how you can participate and get involved in raising money against cancer? Almost every person in their lifetime is somehow affected by cancer, whether it is through a family member, a friend, or even themselves, and want to know how they can participate in their local community to help find a cure against this deadly disease. Relay For Life, which has been going strong for 30 years, is a community, national, and international program where cancer survivors, caregivers, and others come together to raise money to fight back against cancer.
Relay For Life was started in an unique way almost thirty years ago by one man. In 1985, Doctor Gordy Klatt decided to help fight against cancer and raise money by running marathons. For his first marathon, he spent twenty-four hours running at Baker Stadium in Tacoma, Washington. Individuals donated money to walk and/or run with him during the marathon. He raised $27,000 to fight cancer in that twenty-four hour time period alone (Relay). While running, he thought about a team relay event to raise money. He created the first event called the City of Destiny Classic 24-hour Run Against Cancer. In 1986, over $33,000 was raised at the first relay team event (Relay). Over the past twenty-eight years, Relay has turned into 5,200 events and $4.5 billion fundraised to help find a cure for cancer. Relay has inspired millions of survivors, caregivers, and participants (Relay).
Today, Relay For Life events are very easy to get involved in, happen in communities everywhere and can occur at different times of the year in different communi...
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The American Cancer Society’s main concern is assisting people, making profits come second. The American Cancer Society helps patient’s life by finding cures. “For over 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer. Together with millions of our supporters worldwide, we help people stay well and get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer” (American Cancer Society, 2015a). Many people in this world see the importance of the organization and find the interest in donating money or providing anything to help the cause.
... a healthy lifestyle, which can also be used to treat the physical effects of cancer. Methods to lessen the psychological effects of cancer include “psychotherapy, support group therapy and antidepressant medication” (Cancer Complications, n.d.). Because cancer is such a painful illness that has many negative implications on the patient and those who are involved, many who have cancer tend to feel depressed and alone. With the support of fellow cancer patients and survivors, the pain of such a situation can be lessened.
Cancer. The word by itself can conjure images of severely ill and frail people attached to IV medications and chemotherapy drugs as they cling to life in a hospital bed. Other illustrations and pictures depict unrecognizable, misshaped organs affected by abnormal cells that grow out of control, spread, and invade other parts of the body. Cancer studies show that close to one-half of all men and one-third of all women in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer during their lives. Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have had cancer. As patients are newly diagnosed with their specific type of cancer, whether it be breast, lung, prostate, skin, or blood cancer, etc., each patient has to consider what will happen with their future health care plan and who will be involved in their long journey from treatment to recovery. Once diagnosed, cancer patients become the focal point and the center of all activity in terms of care but cancer not only physically invades the patient’s body and well-being, it goes beyond the patient and significantly affects the emotional stability and support from from their loved ones and caregivers. Based on the insidious nature of cancer and typically late detection of malignant diseases, family members (either spouses, children, parents, other relatives, and friends) often become the patient's main caregiver. These caregivers, also known as informal caregivers, provide the cancer patient with the majority of the support outside of the medical facility or hospital environment and become the primary person to provide various types of assistance. They provide the physical support with bathing and assisting in activities of daily living, they become emotional ...
...about cancer clusters. Retrieved from Maryland Cancer Registry website: http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/cancer/Documents/Questions and Answers About Cancer Clusters.pdf
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The American Cancer Society is a volunteer-based organization that is present across the United States. Its main purpose is to raise money and awareness about the severity and prevalence of cancer. Cancer education and research is where most of the focus and monetary donations are used for. The American Cancer Society strives to fulfill their goal of “less cancer and more birthdays” across all generations and populations (ACS Inc., 2011).
Something that I have learned after overcoming this battle is that life is very unpredictable and it is up to the individual to rise above and choose the right path. This excerpt from the poem “Recovery” by Maya Angelou has given me encouragement and inspiration to move on with my life and become the best person that I can be: “A last love, proper in conclusion, should snip the wings forbidding further flight. But I now reft of that confusion, am lifted up and speeding towards the light.” I live by these words everyday because they motivate me to succeed and overcome the impossible.
Jose Baselga, a lead Physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York said, “The next 10 years are expected to usher in unprecedented advances in oncology, including molecularly driven diagnostic and therapeutic developments, whole genome sequencing that results in true precision-based medicine, survivorship care plans that address long-term quality of life concerns, and team-based, cross-disciplinary approaches to research.”(Advances in Medical). This educated guess by Dr. Baselga can lead us to believe that our education about cancer grows with every new account and new procedure that we complete. In the next decade, our understanding of Oncology will be revolutionized in the hope that it will bring us closer to our intended goal of defeating this monstrous disease. Oncology is a flourishing field that is and will be in high demand in the 21st Century because when a problem has been confirmed to be present the human task force will go to various lengths in order to find a solution. Now that Oncology has found a way to presently deal with cancer such as chemotherapy, addressing long term effects of those solutions will be an area that will be focused on as Oncology takes steps forwards towards a cure. Another concentration in Oncology that will develop in the next 10 years will be the prevention of
Facts for Life. Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Retrieved November 25, 2015 from http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/FactsForLife.html
Alexandra M. Levine, MD. The Importance of Hope. West J Med: May 1989. The National Center for Biotechnology. Web. US National Library of Medicine. 25 Apr. 2014.
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...erved by the medical establishment. On May 11 we hope to draw 20,000 people and raise $1 million for the foundation. This is an event that not only educates the community on breast cancer awareness, but also empowers women to survive.