We Need You!

If you know me at all, you know that I'm pretty passionate about fighting cancer.  No, I'm not a top secret scientist that's trying to find the cure.  I'm just a Relay for Life volunteer.  I raise money that goes to those scientists to find a cure.  Not only that, but this past year, I volunteered to be on the Relay Committee.  So. Much. Fun.  Yes, planning a huge event like Relay is stressful...but being around people that feel so passionately about finding a cure for cancer is so inspiring.  We've all been affected by cancer.  Some committee members are cancer survivors, some have lost their spouses, their brothers and sisters.  Some, like me, have lost grandparents.  We're all there and we've all watched cancer wreak havoc on our lives.  Instead of giving up and accepting that cancer is strong, we fight back.  Relay provides us a way to stand back up to cancer and tell it that we're sick of it taking our loved ones.  We have a ton of committee members.  Each has a job that contributes to our Relay event and making it a success.  Some committee members focus on the cancer survivors and recognizing them.  Some committee members focus on developing existing teams and recruiting new ones.  But this year, I reallllllly want to see a new committee position created:  The Mission Committee Chairperson.

The Mission Committee Chair would be in charge of educating people about cancer.  I saw a great quote the other day:  "Knowing cancer exists is not enough.  Get informed.  And pass it on."  Yes, you knew that colon cancer exists.  You may know that getting a colonoscopy can detect the presence of colon cancer. But did you know that over 50,000 people will die of colon cancer this year?  And did you know that of that 50,000 over HALF of them could have been saved with a colonoscopy?  The survival rate for people with colon cancer that was detected early is 90%!  NINETY PERCENT.

Here's another fun fact.  Did you know that obesity is the second leading risk factor leading to cancer?  Second only to tobacco use.  Tobacco use...we knew.  But obesity can cause cancer??  Cancer research shows that 1/3 of all cancers can be attributed to poor diet and lack of exercise.  I had no idea that obesity was a risk factor.

We NEED this information out there.  We need someone to tell people about all the things they can do to prevent getting cancer.  Someone to teach about sun care and smoking and getting colonoscopies.  No, that doesn't mean that you have to have all the answers or know everything there is to know about cancer prevention.  You just need to be passionate about finding a cure and fighting back against cancer so less people get diagnosed.  Is this you?  Did I just describe something you're passionate about??  Well, you're in luck!!  Send me a message...email, Facebook, blog comment...and let me know if you're interested in serving as the Mission Chairperson for the Relay for Life Etown event.  I promise, we'll pump you up and get you passionate about fighting cancer...all while having fun and making relationships with other people that are just as excited about finding a cure as you are.  WE NEED YOU!  (for real.  send me a message.  I would love to have friends on the committee ;) ).