make love, not cancer

Cancer touches all of us. If it hasn't touched a family member, it's touched a friend or a co-worker, and it's all around us, every day.

About this time last year, a dear friend of mine from Clothing Club learned that her sister had been diagnosed with an aggressive and terminal cancer. It was only a few weeks after she told us Lori was sick that she passed away, and Stacie was devastated. Stacie's sister-in-law Jennifer was also taken by cancer. A group of us felt like we should do something, maybe send flowers, or maybe donate to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) in her name. Noelle went on the CCS website, and found the Relay for Life was still looking for teams, and within a week we had gotten a team together and started gathering pledges as, "The Mommas and the Poppas." Stacie even held a Cut-a-Thon, and got herself on the radio to promote it, to boot!

The more people we talked to about it, the more stories we heard of folks who had fought and won, and folks who had fought and lost. We all knew someone - Noelle's grandfather, Ginny's best friend, Stacie's sister, my husband and brother-in-law's uncle and grandmother - who had battled cancer. We even had friends from the world wide web buy luminaries in honour of their loved ones, and one of my favourite parts of the night was wandering around with my camera and finding all of them so that the people who couldn't be there in person could see.

We walked proudly, the Mommas and the Poppas, each of us for someone we knew and loved, whether in honour or memory.

Every year, my Daddy shaved his head for cancer. Then he'd wear this floppy hat to keep his head warm, much to his wife's chagrin. His nephew John lost his foot to childhood cancer, and it was always my Dad's hope to find a cure, or to see research figure out how to grow him a new limb so he's not dependent on prosthetics for the rest of his life.

Last year, Daddy & Lorie (my stepmom) stopped in to drop off tunafish sandwiches for us. My Daddy obviously can't shave his head for John, or bring me tunafish sandwiches. He died on August 3rd, 2006; his sister Florence died February 17, 2007 after battling cancer on her neck and then in her lungs. I guess I'll have to make my own tunafish sandwiches, and step up to the plate to pick up where he left off in the fight against cancer. This year, I'll be walking in my Dad's name, in honour of my cousin John, and in memoriam of Stacie's sister, my husband's Uncle Sem and Granny Field, and my Auntie Florence.

The event was emotionally and physically exhausting, and completely wonderful. Being a part of that is something I want to do every year. Especially since it took me so long to sew those hideous fringed polyester vests!!! Don't let my vests go to waste.... I urge you to click on the links at the top of my blog and pledge. We're still filling the team up, so if you think you'd like to join our team, please let me know. And if you'd like to honour a loved one with a luminary, there's a link there for you to do that, too. Every dollar counts - I'll come and pick up your pocket change and the pennies from your vehicle ashtray, even if they're all stuck together from spilling Tim Horton's coffee on them. If you can afford $5 or $10 or $20, don't wait - pledge now! Cancer CAN be beaten!