Emotional ending and other notes
Jul/Monday/2008 06:07 PM Filed in: LIVESTRONG
As many of you know, Randy Pausch, passed away during
our Summit. The inspirational woman I told you about
earlier, Suzanne, had testified with him on Capital
Hill. One did not need to know him, to be saddened by
this terrible news, but it was particularly poignant
for our group. Every diagnosis, every death, every
hardship a survivor faces, touches our soul. Tomorrow
night, Prime Time Live will do a show regarding his
life at 10 Eastern.
In the closing session, when reviewing the winning videos from each group, many of us learned that one of the leaders was the mother of Get To Know Jack (see earlier blog to watch it). She came on the stage when announcing winners from her group, and said that she had held it together until that moment, and her voice quivered as she told us that her little Jack was doing well. The next few moments did not leave a dry eye in the large auditorium as the thousand delegates + all stood and applauded her and her son. Whew. It was an emotional weekend.
Another emotional note... The Ohio State University president, Dr. Gordon Gee, found the strength and courage to participate in the final panel with Dr. Sonjay Gupta, Dr. Bernadine Healy, and Lance on Sunday. I don’t know if it was national news, but his daughter and son-in-law were in a terrible accident as the Summit started. His son-in-law passed away on Thursday, and he shared the very personal moment as he passed, with his daughter climbing into the hospital bed with her husband (she herself a patient-who’d been flown from her hospital to where he was, when his condition worsened) and helped him to pass peacefully.
Then, on my way home in the airport, I learned of a high school friend and close friend to my brother, being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with mets to his liver. I believe Tim is 48. He IS too young for this and it isn’t fair. An organization I learned about from a survivor in my group, www.ImTooYoungForThis.org, sums up in a nicer way than I felt in hearing this news: “STUPID CANCER”. They have buttons, magnets, cards, etc. that use the slogan. Yes, for a non-survivor, it may sound a little crass, but believe me when I say, THAT is putting it nicely.
Within this short weekend, I learned of two very serious cancers that have effected our family personally. I know that anyone reading this has most likely had this same experience. As Jack said, “What will you do?”
Other notes:
Dr. Harold Freeman: A “soul” brother to Lance, physician, and patient advocate, he founded the Ralph Lauren Center in Harlem and pioneered the patient navigation movement.
He told us the story of his great, great grandfather being a slave in Raleigh, NC in 1838. His name was Walter. He bought his freedom for $3,000 and he gave himself a last name ... Free Man or Freeman.
He said we’ve corrected injustice in the past and we can correct our health care system’s injustice. People should not die from cancer because they are poor or uninsured. One third of Americans are not getting the treatment they need. There are 47 million uninsured, 25 million underinsured, and 32 million on medicaid with no difference in outcomes than uninsureds. He spoke quietly, powerfully, and passionately, about these disparities and ended with saying he wanted to be a “Drum Major for Justice”. It was an honor to be in his presence.
Another moving keynote came fromStephanie Spielman whose husband is former NFL player, Chris Spielman. She spoke of his decision to take a year off during her treatment to take care of her and their kids after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago. Amazing. She started an organization that celebrates the caretaker. She wanted her kids to see their mom turn something bad into good. You can watch her keynote and some of the others from a link on LIVESTRONG (blog).
Other notes on tobacco: One third of cancer deaths are caused by tobacco. Lung cancer is underfunded because we blame the victim. Many never smoked. Senator McCain told of the army giving away tobacco to soldiers when he served. He stopped, but feels we must reduce and eliminate all tobacco products in the US. Approx. 15 billion is spent to market to our youth. Its estimated that in the 21st century in China alone, there will be a billion deaths from tobacco. Almost half of our states are smoke free, so there is progress and hope here in the US.
Read about the first ever National Call to Action in earlier blog.
Remember:
1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men will have cancer in their lifetime.
Cancer costs our country 1/4 of a trillion dollars each year
1500 Americans die each day from cancer (a 9-11 every other day)
The human and economic cost of cancer is unsustainable.
If you are not sure what you can do, start by going LIVESTRONG and join the army! And don’t forget to watch STAND UP FOR CANCER on all the major networks, September 5, 2008, at 8pm. Go to the web site standup2cancer.org to get involved! It’s the most promising time in research. We CAN find a cure in our lifetime. We are starting a movement in our country that won’t stand for the human and economic cost of cancer any longer. Make sure your representatives support the same!
In the closing session, when reviewing the winning videos from each group, many of us learned that one of the leaders was the mother of Get To Know Jack (see earlier blog to watch it). She came on the stage when announcing winners from her group, and said that she had held it together until that moment, and her voice quivered as she told us that her little Jack was doing well. The next few moments did not leave a dry eye in the large auditorium as the thousand delegates + all stood and applauded her and her son. Whew. It was an emotional weekend.
Another emotional note... The Ohio State University president, Dr. Gordon Gee, found the strength and courage to participate in the final panel with Dr. Sonjay Gupta, Dr. Bernadine Healy, and Lance on Sunday. I don’t know if it was national news, but his daughter and son-in-law were in a terrible accident as the Summit started. His son-in-law passed away on Thursday, and he shared the very personal moment as he passed, with his daughter climbing into the hospital bed with her husband (she herself a patient-who’d been flown from her hospital to where he was, when his condition worsened) and helped him to pass peacefully.
Then, on my way home in the airport, I learned of a high school friend and close friend to my brother, being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with mets to his liver. I believe Tim is 48. He IS too young for this and it isn’t fair. An organization I learned about from a survivor in my group, www.ImTooYoungForThis.org, sums up in a nicer way than I felt in hearing this news: “STUPID CANCER”. They have buttons, magnets, cards, etc. that use the slogan. Yes, for a non-survivor, it may sound a little crass, but believe me when I say, THAT is putting it nicely.
Within this short weekend, I learned of two very serious cancers that have effected our family personally. I know that anyone reading this has most likely had this same experience. As Jack said, “What will you do?”
Other notes:
Dr. Harold Freeman: A “soul” brother to Lance, physician, and patient advocate, he founded the Ralph Lauren Center in Harlem and pioneered the patient navigation movement.
He told us the story of his great, great grandfather being a slave in Raleigh, NC in 1838. His name was Walter. He bought his freedom for $3,000 and he gave himself a last name ... Free Man or Freeman.
He said we’ve corrected injustice in the past and we can correct our health care system’s injustice. People should not die from cancer because they are poor or uninsured. One third of Americans are not getting the treatment they need. There are 47 million uninsured, 25 million underinsured, and 32 million on medicaid with no difference in outcomes than uninsureds. He spoke quietly, powerfully, and passionately, about these disparities and ended with saying he wanted to be a “Drum Major for Justice”. It was an honor to be in his presence.
Another moving keynote came fromStephanie Spielman whose husband is former NFL player, Chris Spielman. She spoke of his decision to take a year off during her treatment to take care of her and their kids after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago. Amazing. She started an organization that celebrates the caretaker. She wanted her kids to see their mom turn something bad into good. You can watch her keynote and some of the others from a link on LIVESTRONG (blog).
Other notes on tobacco: One third of cancer deaths are caused by tobacco. Lung cancer is underfunded because we blame the victim. Many never smoked. Senator McCain told of the army giving away tobacco to soldiers when he served. He stopped, but feels we must reduce and eliminate all tobacco products in the US. Approx. 15 billion is spent to market to our youth. Its estimated that in the 21st century in China alone, there will be a billion deaths from tobacco. Almost half of our states are smoke free, so there is progress and hope here in the US.
Read about the first ever National Call to Action in earlier blog.
Remember:
1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men will have cancer in their lifetime.
Cancer costs our country 1/4 of a trillion dollars each year
1500 Americans die each day from cancer (a 9-11 every other day)
The human and economic cost of cancer is unsustainable.
If you are not sure what you can do, start by going LIVESTRONG and join the army! And don’t forget to watch STAND UP FOR CANCER on all the major networks, September 5, 2008, at 8pm. Go to the web site standup2cancer.org to get involved! It’s the most promising time in research. We CAN find a cure in our lifetime. We are starting a movement in our country that won’t stand for the human and economic cost of cancer any longer. Make sure your representatives support the same!