Borrowed info from Lance Armstrong Foundation

Advocacy Facts and Figures

"The numbers below emphasize the fact that as more and more people are living with cancer they are encountering issues that have not been adequately addressed through the health care system. The system needs to be changed to reflect the needs of survivors, and the way to change it is through advocacy.

There are more than 10 million individuals in the United States today who are living with cancer.

Nearly 40 percent of people living with cancer are under the age of 65.

64 percent of adults diagnosed with cancer today will be living 5 years from now.

In 1960, 4 percent of children with cancer survived more than 5 years.

Nearly 80 percent of children (age 0 through 14) diagnosed with cancer today will be living five years from now.

The five year survivorship rates for young adults (age 20 through 40) with cancer has remained unchanged for the past 30 years.

Three out of every four American families will have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer.

24 percent of adults with cancer are parents who have a child 18 years or younger.

One of every four deaths in the United States is from cancer.

In 2005, 570,280 Americans will die of cancer - more than 1,500 people a day.

The annual cost of cancer in the United States is $189,800,000,000 in direct and indirect costs."


I had just clicked on an email I received from the LAF a couple of weeks ago about "Livestrong Day" on Capital Hill:

LIVESTRONG Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country. LIVESTRONG Day 2007 will occur on Wednesday, May 16.

There is an opportunity to travel to Washington to be a part of this event. I'd have to fill out an application and submit it by this Friday to get involved. The LAF is paying for travel and accommodations.

I "can't stand" (I was going to say HATE) politicians and I might enjoy getting in their face about what they are spending money on and what they are not spending money on...like Cancer research.

Thanks for cutting the budget again "W."

This is my feel better week going into Chemo this Friday. I still haven't quite shaken the cold I woke up with 2 weeks ago. I still have some mild sporadic bone pain that just pops up when ever the hell it wants to. Otherwise, yesterday and today are the best I have felt since my first infusion of Chemo a month ago.

It's been a long month.