Today is Daffodil Day - a day to help raise money for the Cancer Society.
In today's world cancer is pretty common - most people know someone who has been affected, in one way or another.
For me, I remember when my Grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer when I was 15 years old. It was horrible watching him slowly dying and there was nothing anyone could do to help. I remember that feeling of helplessness and not knowing what to do or say - really it was just about spending as much time as possible with him and creating memories together that I will never forget.
My second run in with cancer was about 10 years ago when my Nana was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember thinking that she was going to die but luckily they caught it in time. She only had a small lump which they were able to remove and she was given the all clear about 5 years ago. She has just celebrated her 80th birthday, this past July.
My third experience, and probably the worst, was in 2009 when my mother in-law was diagnosed with cancer in her spine… in the end the cancer spread throughout most of her organs. This was the worst thing I have ever seen. Watching someone you love, literally waste away. She had a very aggressive form of cancer and only lasted about four months from diagnosis before she lost her battle. What made it worse was that she had young children (the youngest being 10 at the time), trying to help them deal with the loss of their mother was pretty heart wrenching. As horrible as this experience was, it did bring us closer together as a family and even now we have a strong bond.
Cancer seems to be so widespread these days - I don't know if it's because more people are being diagnosed. Maybe as I am getting older and my friends and family get older, it becomes more common, or maybe with the advances in medical technology, doctors can find it more easily. Sometimes I think it's because of the industry I work in that it seems more prevalent. The number of trauma claims we have had at BRAVEday, as a result of cancer, are pretty staggering.
Every day there seems to be something in the media about a new breakthrough in the treatment of cancer or a new food or product that causes or prevents cancer. Hopefully one day there will be a cure for this nasty disease and by supporting Daffodil Day we are helping to put money towards not only helping people who have cancer but also towards researching the causes and treatment of cancer.