fannie & millie .: handcrafted goodness

What would your world look like without the threat of cancer?

In April I wrote about my family’s experience with cancer, but have avoided sharing the news we received shortly after that post. At his one-year-anniversary doctor’s appointment, we found out that the Gleevec Chris was taking is no longer working for him.  The good news is, there are some new medications he can try.  So far, it seems that the Sprycel he is taking now is doing what it’s supposed to do. We actually consider ourselves among the lucky ones, we have medical insurance, the Leukemia was diagnosed in time and we have wonderful and supportive friends and family. Even so, the additional support offered by the Lance Armstrong Foundation has been really important to us. They have worked to empower us to feel more in control and to take charge of Chris’ treatment by giving us numerous, invaluable resources and also by helping us to connect with other survivors so that we don’t feel so alone. They also have a broader agenda quoted here from their website:

We must close the gaps between what we know and what we do in the cancer fight.

Nearly 47 million Americans lack health insurance. About 16 million more are underinsured.

Health care coverage and financial concerns should not dictate who lives, who dies and who suffers unnecessarily.

Ethnic populations in the U.S. carry a disproportionate burden of poor quality cancer care, and minorities are much more likely to die and suffer needlessly from the disease.

With screening, we could prevent 1/3 of all cancer deaths.

90% of colorectal cancer deaths, 30% of all breast cancer deaths in women over age 40 and virtually all cervical cancer deaths can be prevented now.

Cancer funding is decreasing and government attention is fragmented.

While 13 different government agencies fund cancer research, no one is in charge of the nation’s cancer program. Hard to believe when 10 million people in our country are living with cancer.

We must be more efficient, more collaborative and more directed about how we use what we know.

We must close the gaps.

We must make cancer a national priority.

Today.

Please join me in supporting the LAF. It’s a matter of life and death.