Imagine a world without cancer

Inititially this journal entry was titled "Happy Anniversary", marking today as my two year cancer free day. However, despite my treatment being over and my scans clear and my voice strong, cancer remains all around.

My business partner, who is only 47 years old, is unlikely to live to be 50. A mom at school and a college friend, also likely to die within a few years. I completely understand that people are living longer and treatments are more effective and easier on the quality of life... except that why are more people getting cancer?

Sometimes I have felt like a completely freaked out mom, acting as if my kids are allergic to plastic and high fructose corn syrup and sugar free anything. Except that can't tell us the entire picture. There are cleaning agents being used daily in schools, there are high levels of hormones being found in drinking water, Teflon from the waffle maker, and a life times' use of the most basic shampoo and hair gel. Could all these things be piling up inside our children's bodies, just waiting for the kids with the crack in the wrong strand of dna to develop a brain tumor?

If that is true, then is the old argument "there is nothing I can do about it, so I might as well enjoy my ______ " - fill in the blank - cigarette, Doritos, hair dye.. valid?

Lung cancer and skin cancer are a kind of cancer that we can all be smart about and do our best to prevent. But what about brain tumors and leukemia?

When you google cancer you get 31,500,000 hits, google cancer sucks gets 265,000 hits.

The first few pages of cancer sucks links are for sites that are selling cancer sucks stuff... with a portion of the proceeds going to cancer research (of course!). It is big news when a celebrity gets breast cancer, but not so much speculation as to why we get breast cancer and why we aren't doing more to prevent it.

Could the Avon Corporation actually be more effective in their fight against cancer if instead of fundraising for cancer awareness they put all that money toward eliminating the toxic chemicals used in nearly all their products?

So, I will have a healthy day, and be so grateful for my strong voice and my fabulous doctors. I will also be aware of those around me that have not been so lucky,