Will Someone Please %&$?!ing Cure Cancer Already?

Enough is enough.

It's time for me to get really serious for a moment. I'm tired of reading about more people being diagnosed with various types of cancer. Last week I found out a good friend of mine has an ovarian tumor and has to have surgery to remove it. She doesn't know if it's cancerous, but she's battled skin cancer in the past and has managed to beat it, and she's rightfully worried about this tumor. Mind you, she's only 26. No one should have to bear such a horrible disease and barely be starting an adult life.

Just this morning I read about Elizabeth Edwards' condition. She's battled breast cancer for the last several years and had thought it was in remission. Apparently last week she went to see her doctor and found out her cancer had come back and additional surgery or therapy would not be of significant help to her. She now has mere weeks to live.

Elizabeth Edwards has had more to deal with than any other woman I can think of. Her son was killed in a car accident when he was only 16; her husband had an affair and a child with another woman; and she's had to fight cancer amidst all this. I amazed she's able to get up in the morning and stay in relatively good spirits after going through all these events. I may not agree with her politics, but she certainly has my sympathy and prayers for her life coming to an end like this. No one deserves such a fate.

But then there are people like Dick Vitale. I don't particularly like him because he had transcended being a self-caricature on ESPN years ago, but there's one thing he's been extremely passionate about for years. He's been a major proponent of raising donations for cancer research in an effort to ultimately stamp out the disease all together. He's been particularly vocal about children stricken with leukemia and other forms of cancer, and I happened to hear him talk about the subject just this morning on ESPN Radio as well. He's worked closely with the Jimmy V Foundation since its inception in 1993, and I give him major respect for wanting to wipe out this disease once and for all.

In fact, ESPN as a whole does wonderful work in partnering with the Jimmy V Foundation every year and auctions off hundreds of sports memorabilia every summer. All auction bids go completely towards the Jimmy V Foundation, and if you don't know who Jimmy V is, please look up Jimmy Valvano on YouTube. His speech at the ESPY Awards in 1993 is one of the most inspirational videos I've ever seen.

I say all this simply because I hate reading about friends and families being affected by cancer. I think it's safe to say that fighting and defeating cancer once and for all is something that we all can agree on, regardless of political, religious, or social differences. I am going to do my part, and I hope others who read this post will do theirs as well.