One of my goals for this year was to sponsor 12 different charities, one each month, in order to focus on support and giving back, two things that are really important to me. While I already know it's a goal I'm not going to complete (due to being forgetful, mostly), rather than give up and start again next year I thought I'd just carry on, and this post over on J's blog inspired me to do so.
I was truly astonished to read that pancreatic cancer is still the deadliest cancer, with the five-year survival rate at only 6%. And what makes it even worse is that the incident -and- mortality rates are increasing. It's a shocking thought, especially considering I don't even remember the last time I saw anything to do with pancreatic cancer.
The fight against all kinds of cancer is constant, on-going and getting stronger all the time. Breast and prostate cancers are being eradicated, which is incredible and shows that supporting research and cures really does work. There simply isn't enough awareness of pancreatic cancer; do you remember the last time you saw a rally for funding, a poster, a T.V. commercial about it? I certainly don't.
J is having a purple month over on her blog to raise awareness and I think I'm going to join her. And if anyone else would like to join, by making something purple, wearing something purple or simply by making it a point to recognise the fight against pancreatic cancer and standing by that worthwhile cause, that would be pretty awesome of you.
Love, K.
Oh Kate, you have no idea how much it means to me to read this post on your blog. Quite often it is only the fighters and families affected by pancan that speak out about it and we all hope and pray that maybe someone hears us and maybe they'll stop and think about it. Very rarely in my experience has anyone not only listened but actually spoke out about it themselves in some way.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a deadly disease and while every cancer is deadly not many cancers rob such a high percentage of the lives touched by them nor with the viciousness and speed that pancan is known for. There are no early detection plans and not very much funding or attention given to PC. As soon as you see a pink ribbon you know exactly what it is for but no one realizes that my purple bracelet has any meaning unless they comment on it and I get the chance to tell them it is for PC awareness.
I could go on and on about this but I just wanted to say thank you. From the deepest corner of my heart and from the memory of my grandpa I thank you for this beautifully written post and your support and the thought you have given to this.
<3 Janine
Thank you so much for your kind words, Janine. After reading your post, I really wanted to do something to help raise awareness of such a devastating illness. It's so under-publicised that I imagine many people like myself have really no idea how behind the treatments and screening processes are. And to think that survival rates are so low, in a time when other cancers are being wiped from the earth, is just heartbreaking.
DeleteI'm lucky in the sense that no-one I know has been diagnosed with any type of cancer but I know, as you've said, how aggressive and destructive this illness can be, no matter what the kind. I hope that awareness for pancan continues to grow, that people strive to support it with purple ribbons as well as pink, and I know I will do my best to make that happen.
Purple Month is going to be a great month.
<3