Suck It, Cancer!

I recently found out that my roommate from college's dad was diagnosed with some nasty cancer. Sadly, it is allover his body after metastasizing from portions of his skin. This sucks. It is always great news to hear of people being cancer free (Shirlee Clevenger = Hero; Alan Richardson = Hero) especially after demonstrating such bravery and strength during chemo and radiation treatments. I am always optimistic about recovery, knowing doctors today are armed with amazing cancer fighting weapons and strategies. Regardless, it is always scary hearing the "c" word. This also brings up several emotions within me after going through a similar process with my little sister Dana.

Dana was diagnosed with a series of tumors in her spinal cord over two years ago that turned out to be benign. We could not have been more thankful----although she went through a very painful surgery and recovery. Still, the tumors haven't returned and she is back to normal. Those days before the surgery and after, waiting to hear the pathology was terrifying. I am thankful every day that we did not have to experience that, though I know we as a family would have rallied around her and supported her in every way possible. She began blogging about her experience after initially hearing about the tumors:
www.danakmonforton.blogspot.com

During her recovery time, her BFF Katie mentioned running a half marathon in Annapolis---I thought this would be a great time to raise money for the hospital's cancer center where Dana was treated. I only raised about $200, but it was very short notice. After hearing news of my college roommate's dad, I have decided I'm going to go ahead and run another half marathon. This time, I'm going to start fundraising earlier. While I have to wait for the go-ahead from my doctor after baby Norton is born, I am extremely motivated (once again) to raise some money for a cause that is close to me. While running a half marathon in October/November is some time away, I do want to set my sights on raising at least $1000. I think this is attainable. If it brings about awareness to people who aren't usually cognoscente about cancer screenings and prevention, well, I guess I would have done my job.

So, for all five of my blog readers: Send happy thoughts out into the universe for those people who are beating cancer------they need your support.