Cancer

As I am sure you're all aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Pink is everywhere, as are ribbon-shaped items all in conjunction with bringing this disease to the forefront of consciousness. Some people are offended by this because they feel all cancer should be paid equal heed. I can only speak for me. Personally, I have no objection to there being different months, organizations, fundraisers, etc for various cancers. The truth of the matter is, some cancers are more preventable or controlled by behavioral factors. Some are more common. Some have higher success rates of beating with early detection. Breast cancer is the most frequently found cancer for women, aside from skin cancer. It is also the second-most deadly cancer for women. However, it also currently has an 89% 5-year survival rate. So, why shouldn't early detection be promoted to help rid something that is not preventable, but is detectable and, in many circumstances, treatable?

I support the leukemia-lymphoma society. I'm all for the colo-rectal cancer calendar. But I'm not going to get worked up because our nation has decided to focus for a month on breast cancer when my husband died of cholangiocarcinoma. Yes, I would like his disease to get more attention. Yes, I would like there to be more research and funding poured into it. But it is much more rare, which means that funding would help fewer people. It's diagnosed 2,000 - 3,000 times a year in the U.S., as opposed to over 190,000 expected cases of breast cancer this year. For cholangiocarcinoma that can be operated on, the 5-year survival rate is 20-40%. Unfortunately, the majority of diagnoses occur beyond the point of surgery being possible. Without surgery, the rate is less than 10%. If the two cancers must be compared, I'm all for saving lives through awareness and early detection. I would love for there to have been something that could have saved Nathan's life. But that was not to be. I refuse to become bitter or angry because his cancer didn't get enough attention. And, knowing Nate, he would not have wished someone else had to suffer or die so he could live. He didn't bring this disease upon himself. But he bore his final burden as a warrior.