World Cancer Day
Up until 1988, the only thing I knew about cancer personally, was a fundraiser that I participated in elementary school, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, called “Send A Mouse To College.” This of course was a reference to the supporting of medical research and cancer, which used mice, among other species, to find a cure for a disease, usually never talked about publicly, and almost always fatal.
My personal timeline went as follows. My grandmother would be diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986. That was all that was ever talked about it. Then in the fall of 1988, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease, now called Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Over the decades, cancer would knock on the door of my family several times (grandmother a second time, my grandfather, my father), and I would learn of others who had passed from cancer I was not even aware of, because it was not talked about (my paternal grandmother). That was a problem, and for many, lack of communication about cancer remains a problem.
The official recognition of World Cancer Day, is not a celebration, but rather a day of awareness, begun in 2000 in Paris, France, at the World Summit Against Cancer led by the Union For International Cancer Control. In 2008, February 4th was declared World Cancer Day, not to celebrate cancer, but to raise awareness of cancer, encourage prevention, provide information on diagnosing and treating cancer, and to make sure that everyone has access to the same quality health care against cancer, regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity.
The truth is, we should not need a special day to recognize the importance of dealing with cancer. But here it is, February 4th, World Cancer Day.
Since 1988, cancer has been more prevalent in my life. In fact, it seemed soon after my battle ended, more people around me, found themselves battling cancer. I knew this, because they had come to me for support. People were talking about cancer, at least that I was aware of, for the first time.
Upon completing my treatments, I made the decision to “give back” to those who saved my life, by reaching out to, and advocating for, other cancer patients and survivors, something that I still do to this day through Paul’s Heart. With the advances in technology, I am able to reach around the world with my advocacy and knowledge of the newer methods of diagnosis and treatments available today, compared to what I went through thirty-five years ago.
And for me, World Cancer Day is literally about the world. I have been blessed over these decades to meet other cancer patients and survivors, not just locally, not just around the United States, but literally around the world from countries such as Spain, Canada, Switzerland, England, Scotland, South Africa, and more. Together, we all do our part to inform and support those around us, and each other, in the battles against cancer.
Paul's Heart 