Thank you, Stand Up To Cancer

I thought the Stand Up To Cancer program was awesome. It put a face to cancer. It helped make us all become aware that cancer cuts through our entire population. No one is safe. Cancer affects the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the famous, the unknown. We are all on common ground and equal in the battle against cancer. We all share a common enemy.

The show truly made it feel right that we all stand up together, and that we all contribute whatever we can to the battle...that giving to the cause, however small or large, matters. Even those who have nothing to give but their story....what truly counts is the standing up, the unity, the being part of a movement that visibly and publicly demands more in the fight against cancer.

What I in the end loved was that both presidential candidates views were given airtime. We need to hold them accountable. I've taken to writing government officials to demand increased funding for cancer research. I don't know how far we get when a few of us here and there write Congress. But I'm sure seeing three networks, a huge number of celebrities and a massive audience demand a change will make a difference in government. Government funding for cancer research has been cut every year since 2003. Maybe now the government will be aware that we are paying attention, that funds for cancer research may buy them votes, make them popular. Maybe funding for cancer research will suddenly become politically correct, maybe it will be on the agenda now.

I have been watching the Stand Up To Cancer web site since it's inception. My understanding is that it will be back up fully on the 8th. I hope the Stand and the Constellation are back then. I hope the site stays up to give us information about progress being made in the fight against cancer, to let us know how much was raised.

Cool thing, I donated online before the show started (one dollar for every appendiceal cancer patient I've been in contact with since I published my web site). I know several who donated during the show and some said they had trouble getting through as the lines were so busy. Parts of the web site couldn't be accessed due to increased traffic. I thought that was great.

Lots of us stood up. Lots of us care. Lots of us want to see the end of cancer.