For the Good of Mankind!

I promised to get off the political rant, at least for today. It's no easy task though but I think this topic will be timely as well. I was asked to do a little expose on how head and throat cancer has affected my life for a fund raising event, and I thought I'd share some of my musings.

Cancer has affected us all, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who's not been touched by this terrible disease. My experience started early when my mother was afflicted with a inoperable brain tumor. She left behind five children twelve and younger and a husband whom for without a great family support system would of been overwhelmed.

Nearly four decades later my dad succumbed to throat cancer. They both fought a valiant battle against a ruthless opponent. Dad even left his body to science in the hope they could help others learning how they didn't help him.

What bothers me is between those two events we've had a great deal of technology and advancements. Shortly after my mother's death America answered John F. Kennedy's challenged and walked the first man on the moon. We won that race against Russia, a testament to American ingenuity. Pocket calculators became a household item, starting out expensive and now anyone could afford them.The Berlin wall was brought down. The Internet surfaced and changed the face of society. Everyone owns a personal computer, an Ipod, and a cell phone. We've entered the information age. Back in the 1960's you could buy a set of encyclopedias and they were current for decades, now they'd be obsolete before they were printed. Yet cancer is still an influence in our lives. Why?

Well I have to think we've not dedicated our resources to the problem. There is very little American ingenuity cannot solve when we take up the challenge. We can make things smaller, cheaper, faster, slimmer, and more user friendly whenever we are called to do so, and that's before we call on Japan's amazing technology! Worldwide cooperation would end this disease in 1/2 the time. How about we call on everyone to use our laser focus to eliminate this disease. Support your local cancer research facility!

God Bless
Capt. Bill