Image courtesy PMC
I'm not in a funny mood today. I'm going to be a serious Bumble just for a day and beg you into action. I don't ask you for much of anything, so I hope you find a way to listen and respond, because I know too many people being attacked by cancer.
- There is our friend Claire - who has been undergoing treatment upwards of 8 years. She is in her early 40's and a mother of three elementary aged children who probably don't remember what her real hair looked like.
- There is our friend Mike - also in his 40's. His wedding photos when he was in his 20's show a bald head from chemo and a beaming smile. He is cancer free and raising his family, thankful he was given the time to do so.
- There is Andy's family friend Patty, a virtual member of his family - in her mid-30's, engaged and fighting for her life as we speak. She is about to begin chemo for the second time after 11 months of remission. This time it isn't curable.
- There is Andy's childhood friend Pete - terrified to discover cancer in his mid-30's when he had a little boy at home, surviving his treatment and changing his career path to work with and for people living with cancer.
- There is Molly's boss Ross - in his mid-60's and recently pronounced in remission a year after radiation treatments ended, looking forward to enjoying all of his grandchildren.
- There is Molly's former co-worker Lynne - in her mid-60's with a daughter she adores in her late 20's providing motivation to keep fighting a cancer that never quite goes away.
- There is our friend Janet - familiar to many of you as the blogger extraordinaire at Fond of Snape, host of Friday Fill-Ins, incredible photographer and keeper of Thursday 13. Recently pronounced in remission after completion of her chemo and trying to take advantage of her new lease on life with a new love.
- There is Molly's former co-worker Liz's mom - she refused to let the chemo poison her battered body any further after her cancer came back after years of remission. She died several months after Liz's wedding, leaving her daughter without a mother at the age of 25.
So you need to donate. Right now. Our friend is riding in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge in August and has pledged to raise a minimum of $4,200. Anything he doesn't raise comes out of his own pocket for the privilege to ride across the state over the course of a weekend. You can donate whatever amount you want at his donation page here. And 100% - every single frickin' penny - goes to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to fight adult and pediatric cancer.
The Pan-Mass. Challenge has been around for 30 years. They have raised almost $300 million dollars for Dana-Farber in that period of time. This year's goal is $31 million. Last year they accounted for 50% of all of Dana-Farber's fund raising. It is a big deal. It is a model charity. It is respected. It will be one of the biggest reasons for cancer's cure when that day comes.
I'll let our friend tell you himself why he is riding 150 miles on a bike when he would rather be sitting at a BBQ on a summer day:
"I am riding for my Mom, who passed away in the most dignified way possible from lung cancer. Not long before she left us, she whispered to me “I’m scared”. I held her hand but said nothing, and the feeling of helplessness remains with me. So, this ride will serve in a very small way as my response. "
Donate here knowing that every penny of your tax deductible contribution is going directly to cancer treatment & research right now. To keep children from dying. To keep parents from dying. To keep your family and friends alive.
8 comments:
You are right Molly, there are too many people in my life fighting for their lives. And God bless you for doing your part. You don't always have to be a funny Bumble.
I would love to help, but am currently struggling to pay off the medical bills from my own adventure with cancer. I will cheer him on from the virtual sideline.
Too many people gone too early. Too many people and families being held back because of the struggle. Cancer, in one form or another, has been around since the Pharaohs, it is about time we licked it!
Sandy's right: you don't always have to be a funny Bumble. And you are right to be pissed off. Cancer is the most insidious, the most personal of all diseases. No one of our generation has gone untouched by it, as you point out. Best of luck to your friend. It is a most worthy cause, indeed.
I never knew my maternal grandmother. She died of cancer 3 years before I was born.
And although you wouldn't know it by looking at her, Mary has had two surgeries to remove cancer. ( We don't publicize this ).
I've already made a number of donations to cancer research on behalf of others this year, so I can't do this one, but I sure hope plenty of others help him reach his goal.
Donated!!! Thanks, Molly, for including me :-)
Okay...very inspired...thank you. donation on its way...
My grandfather died of cancer 6 months after he was diagnosed. It was difficult to watch him lose his battle. I'll try and make a donation :)
I agree with Sandy, you don't always have to be entertaining. It's nice to be reminded of important things. I have a childhood friend who has been battling breast cancer for abut 3 years. Another friend had a daughter that had leukemia when she was about 9. They got through that and now 20 years later their other daughter has breast cancer. It seems to be every where. It's a good cause to support.
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