Steadman Family

I was pretty pleased with the news that the cancer death rate dropped for the second consecutive year (with 2004 being the latest year reported). Nice to think that we may be finally turning a corner on this fight.

And then I dug a little deeper into the story.

Another 1.4 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Another half a million will die. And that’s only here in the US. 

Federal funding for cancer research and prevention was cut last year for the first time in 35 years. Our president has continued to block funding for scientific advances in stem cell research and has wasted over $300 million per day in a useless war. 

All this in the year that we lost Ben and so many other beautiful kids. We cannot become complacent with the progress that has been made. We cannot sit by and wait for a cure. Please support one of these amazing organizations:

Prayers For Maria - A new foundation focusing on funding research of pediatric diffuse pontine glioma.  

Lance Armstrong Foundation - I’m pretty impressed with the work Lance is doing to make cancer a national priority.

Make-A-Wish Foundation - What more can I ever say about how wonderful Ben’s wish was?

And, most importantly, start planning on voting for candidates that support scientific advancement and addressing the many health care needs of this country.

I’ve spent the last two evenings reading through the archives of our blog. I’ve done it once before and am always amazed to dig back through our experiences. I have no memory of writing most of it. Others make me laugh at my ongoing ice-cream addiction. I spent so many nights pouring my soul into this blog to avoid falling apart while the kids were awake. Every word is a treasure that takes me back to a time when I was focused on my family and nothing else.

I also read back over my writings and am envious of the strength that I had. I feel like I’ve been drifting for the last few months. Fearful that I would breakdown if anyone would really look into my eyes. Slinking from one holiday to the next; never looking up; never looking ahead.

The last few weeks have been much better. I’ve found a little of my old self-confidence and am slowly rejoining the world of the vertebrates.

Fueled along by each pint of Ben & Jerry’s.