Commentary

Nationally televised show, September 5, 8pm et/pt, 7pm ct
ABC, CBS, & NBC

The new single for Stand Up To Cancer, “Just Stand Up!,” has finally been released. The track was produced by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and L. A. Reid, and includes powerhouse performances by, Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Fergie, Leona Lewis, and Mary J. Blige. Other vocalists include Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Rihanna, Melissa Etheridge, Miley Cyrus, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara and LeAnn Rimes.

Now you’ll have to excuse me while I climb up on my soapbox and explain to you why exactly you need to rush over to iTunes (where it is available now) and download this song immediately.

I’m always a sucker for a good charity single. I get a little sappy when celebrities get together to raise money for any kind of disaster relief or cause. I freely admit that no matter how financially strapped I may be, I always manage to scrape together $10 bucks when the celebrities tell me I should. Well, oftentimes the causes are worthy ones, like Katrina relief, 9/11, and of course the never-ending fight against poverty, AIDS, etc.

The thing is, most of the time, I have only empathy for the people that money is being raised to help. I can only imagine what it would be like to lose my husband in 9/11, my home and family in Katrina, or what it must be like to be an orphan in Africa whose entire family has succumbed to AIDS. My heart goes out to people who have lived out these horrific tales of survival and managed to come out the other side. How can you not give money to causes like that?

This time though, its different. This time the cause isn’t just something other people are going through. It’s something that’s been a focal point in my life for the last six months. It’s cancer. And according to statistics all of you reading this will either have cancer or someone close to you will get cancer. This is not a random act of terrorism or a disease that can be prevented with education, or a horrific act of nature that no one can ever see coming.

Cancer knows no geography, no race, no gender, no social status. It affects everybody. It affected me last April when my dad was diagnosed with the disease. By the grace of God, amazing doctors and researchers, so far his prognosis is positive. But as anyone who has dealt with cancer knows, it will be years before he is given the official “all clear.” There is always the very real chance that the cancer can come back in that time.

What happens if his cancer comes back? Well, that my friends, is up to you. You see funding for cancer research has hit an all time low. Everyday the government is puling funding for programs that are on the verge of making major breakthroughs in cancer research. It’s up to all of us to replace that lost funding and help researchers finish the job that they have started, the job of ending cancer.

The latest statistics say that 1 in 4 men will either being diagnosed with cancer, for women that number is 1 in 3. Do the math. What happens to cancer treatment today is going to impact your life. Yours mom or dad, brother or sister, your husband, our wife, your children, or even yourself, will get cancer. At least according to these statistics. Less than a year ago that would’ve sounded strange to me. Now I am a daughter of someone who is fighting the disease

Normally this is the place where I get off my soapbox, but not today. Today I am going to stay here on this soapbox and hope that each and every one of you reading this will take a moment and donate a dollar. If all of us could stand up and throw one dollar into a bucket, we would be protecting our own families. Go to iTunes and download a song, that’s all. Or visit www.standup2cancer.org and launch a star in the name of someone you love. It only costs a dollar. A dollar to help save the life of someone you love is a pretty small price.

I can tell you first hand, a dollar isn’t anywhere near enough what I’d be willing to pay to ensure my dad keeps getting better. And he’s who I’m standing for. Who are you going to stand up for?

The end of cancer begins, with you.

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