The other day as I sat in my doctor’s waiting room, I picked up a magazine to pass the time. Unlike a lot of doctors’ offices, my doctor has current issues available. As I paged through a women’s magazine, I stumbled across an article that I found particularly disturbing. And I wanted to share some of the information with you. Not because it is disturbing, but because we need to be aware.
As a cancer survivor, I tend to think in terms of surviorship and try hard not to dwell on the statistics of the disease. But this article simply astounded me.
Every 74 seconds someone in the world dies from breast cancer. That’s every 74 SECONDS. Talk about an attention grabber. I stopped reading, and I think I may even have stopped breathing.
Sixty seconds in a minute. Sixty minutes in an hour. That’s almost 49 people lost to this disease every hour of the day. Or over 1,150 lives lost every day.
If the nightly news carried statistics like this concerning a war, the public would be outraged. Imagine losing over 1,100 soldiers in a war somewhere in the world every single day.
Make no mistake about it – we’re in a war. A war against all cancers. I know I’ve talked largely about breast cancer on this blog, because that was the type of cancer I had. And these statistics only encompass breast cancer. Add in all of the other cancers that we’re losing people to every single day, and I think we all would be shocked and outraged.
As I read on in the article, it mentioned that 1 out of every 2 men will experience some form of cancer in their lifetimes. And one out of every three women will have cancer. Those numbers are sobering. And astounding.
I’ve already lost my dear mother to lung cancer. I’ve had more relatives and friends diagnosed with various cancers than I’d care to count. We are at war.
And we’ve got to do something to reverse these statistics. To save lives.
Feel the rage at losing so many people a day to a disease that we need to eradicate.
Don’t be one of these statistics.
Educate yourself and your loved ones.
Be proactive.
Support causes like Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Livestrong. They are truly trying to make a difference worldwide. Both have great links and information.
Do not shrink away from the facts. One life lost a day to this disease is one too many.
And last, don’t give up hope. Hope for a cure. Hope for a better world. Hope.
Kat Jorgensen 