So.. Cancer, yea.
I kept Jill company last night for a while at the mta Relay For Life; a fundraiser for cancer research and all-around mourning ceremony / cry-fest.
They say that one in three people are touched by cancer. they asked us to stop for a moment and think about who we were here for. I don't think I know anyone, not a single person, who has had cancer. oh, wait.. hmm. i think i had a teacher in junior high maybe. but i didn't know her well at all. That's a whole lot of cancer-less people in my life. does that mean that someone else knows twice as many that do have it? you can poke fun and say what you want about the french blood, but appearently we chanced to stay clear of the cancerous genes.
and this is going to sound really cold, and i think it has something to do with the way i deal with emotion altogether, but it seems to me that walking around for 12 hours in a continuous loop is a very large waste of energy which does nothing to resolve any issues having to do with cancer.. i understand that the point is to get sponsors and raise money, which makes sense. lighting candles in memory of people we've lost, makes sense. coming together as a group to show our support, makes sense. but the whole 'relay' part of the relay is kinda lost on me.
I kept Jill company last night for a while at the mta Relay For Life; a fundraiser for cancer research and all-around mourning ceremony / cry-fest.
They say that one in three people are touched by cancer. they asked us to stop for a moment and think about who we were here for. I don't think I know anyone, not a single person, who has had cancer. oh, wait.. hmm. i think i had a teacher in junior high maybe. but i didn't know her well at all. That's a whole lot of cancer-less people in my life. does that mean that someone else knows twice as many that do have it? you can poke fun and say what you want about the french blood, but appearently we chanced to stay clear of the cancerous genes.
and this is going to sound really cold, and i think it has something to do with the way i deal with emotion altogether, but it seems to me that walking around for 12 hours in a continuous loop is a very large waste of energy which does nothing to resolve any issues having to do with cancer.. i understand that the point is to get sponsors and raise money, which makes sense. lighting candles in memory of people we've lost, makes sense. coming together as a group to show our support, makes sense. but the whole 'relay' part of the relay is kinda lost on me.
posted by Suzanne Zappia at 3:09 PM
1 Comments:
I can't think of a single person in my family or circle of friends who has been touched directly by cancer either. But I do know Colin Petrykanyn who used to work at the Pub with me. His sister died this year; she was no more than 22 years old.
The significance of the "relay" in the relay for life is immense. Relay implies that you walk as part of a team. It’s a chance for groups of friends, families and co-workers to gather in groups. It is in small groups that the absence of friends, families and co-workers is most noticeable.
I spent all twelve hours of the Relay out there and not once did I hear someone say that they didn't know why they were out here. I didn't the year before when it was minus 10 either.
People who participate in the relay realize that what they are doing is honoring the strength of those who have survived cancer or are battling it now. If you have trouble walking in a twelve hour relay, then consider for a moment how it must feel day after day for months on end go to the hospital for excruciating treatment knowing full well that you are statistically likely to die anyway. To continue fighting the cancer anyway is real endurance and strength.
Why do we march to the cenotaph on Remembrance Day. It's a sign of respect and honor for those who were handed a battle and put up a fight.
I see the same purpose in the relay and as someone who hasn't been touched by cancer yet I know that you and I are statistic anomalies and that sooner or later my luck will run out and someone reading this very message, perhaps maybe even you, may be the one fighting for their life. If that’s the case then I want to know now that I have done everything I possibly can.
Raising $23,000 by “walking around for 12 hours in a continuous loop” doesn’t sound like “a very large waste of energy which does nothing to resolve any issues having to do with cancer” to me.
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