Friday, February 03, 2012

Laurianne's Hope For a Cure

I will never knowingly give another dime to The Susan G. Komen Foundation. I made this decision when I heard that The Susan G. Komen Foundation was suing people for using the phrase, "For A Cure." In fact, I won't even buy toilet paper if it has Susan G. Komen Foundation's label on it. I would rather grab a handful of leaves outside. There are other types of cancers besides breast cancer, and there are other people who are looking for a cure for the cancers that their family members have developed. Apparently, the survival rate of breast cancer has gotten high enough that instead of focusing on other types of cancers that could use the donated funds for research, SGK has decided it was more important to sue individuals for using "For a Cure." It could just be you and me, and their legal bloodhounds would be on us quicker than you can say "pink".

Cancer has affected my family. This blog was created because lung cancer has affected my family. My grandmother and three aunts have had breast cancer, and I am sure their survival can be attributed to cancer research funding. But what about funding for lung cancer? Or prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, bone cancer, leukemia, melanoma, esophageal cancer, brain cancer...and the list could go on and on. Where is the aid for people who do not have breast cancer, but they do have cancer? Why can't the SGK Foundation take some of their funding, and instead of suing people who are trying to find a cure for their stricken loved ones, they help fund some of the research for other types of cancers. The very fact that they pursue people who use their "For the Cure" branding makes me feel like they are making too much money and don't know what to do with it.

The SGK Foundation was built by Nancy Brinker, Susan Komen's sister. I used to admire her for putting herself out there, and trying to help people because she lost her sister to an insidious disease. But Nancy Brinker isn't the only one who lost a sister to cancer. I am sure there are people in this world who can point to themselves and say that they have lost their sister to cancer. I am one of those people. I don't think there is anyone in this world who can truly say they have not been affected by cancer in one way or another.

Of course, unless you live under a rock, you probably have heard of SGK Foundation's decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. No matter what reason you believe they have for pulling the funding, the thing is that there are women who may only be able to get or afford their health check-ups through this organization. With this funding being pulled, what are the chances that someone may not get the early detection they need to beat the disease? When did the almighty dollar become so much more important than saving lives?

When my sister was diagnosed with lung cancer, she decided to put herself out there and raise funds for cancer prevention. She wanted a world where Calem didn't have to worry about cancer, a world that was cancer-free. In her own words....

I am amazed how many people are affected. I read that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life! I hope that Calem and his generation will not have to worry about cancer as much as we do.

Posted by Lynda :: 7:00 AM :: 2 people are more aware ---------------------------------------