I’ll apologize in advance because my post today is off-topic. I just couldn’t find anything else I wanted to talk about so today our topic is Cancer. You know someone who has either suffered from or died from cancer. I lost my grandfather in the early 1970s to cancer and the really sad thing is today he may have survived. That was a little too young to know him well, but I am told he was a kind, honest, and gentle man who was well-respected. All I remember is him lying in a hospital bed in their home and how he smelled. It was an odd aroma which I still distinctly remember, but have a difficult time describing.
Last year I lost my grandmother to undiagnosed metastasized breast cancer. The cancer had grown to the surface of the skin before it was realized and due to her advanced age there was no treatment, only making her comfortable until she passed.
Yesterday an old friend died from brain cancer. While I had not seen him since college, we had stayed in touch. He leaves behind two young boys and his wife who was also a friend in college. He went much quicker than anyone thought, he stopped treatment weeks ago when chemo was not able to retard the growth of the tumor, had stroke-like symptoms on one side of his body last week, was still able to close and squeeze your hand earlier this week, was very weak on Tuesday, and died on Wednesday.
I’m just about fed up with cancer. Everyone who reads my blog has an interest in something whether it is fermentation related or firearms related. Those hobbies and interests cost money. So here is my challenge to those who have stayed with me this far today, take some amount you would have spent on a hobby and donate it to a cancer charity. If you were going to spend $50 on a bottle of something special, take that $50 and really make it special by giving it to charity. Instead of buying $40 worth of ammo, give that money to charity. Take the money you were going to spend at the local watering hole and donate it to the cause. If you’ve read this far you might as well take that final step.
The only charity I am aware of where you can be sure 100% of your donation goes for research is Stand Up To Cancer so I suggest you use that charity if you don’t have one you prefer. I wear a Stand Up To Cancer wristband every single day and will continue to do so until we beat cancer. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be back on topic, but today I just couldn’t pull it off.
