49 Days - Help!

No, I don't mean "Help!" in an "Oh my gawd, I'm in trouble!" sort of way. Nor am I saying it in a "Please help me!" way either (though, if you can tell me why I can't upload the images I've been attempting to for the last couple of days, I'd be grateful!)

No, why I wrote 'Help!' is because of all the wonderful offers of help I've been given, or offered, over the last couple of days. I've been greatly impressed by how much everyone wants to do something - anything. From sending emails to friends, to let them know what I'm doing; to offering to take a flyer home for their husband to take in to work and show round (probably to have a good laugh, at the very least! :-) ) and see if support can be drummed up in other places; or to simply telling me how they are following the blog to see what's going on.

All of these things people are doing are encouraging for me. But, more, it is an expression of how much people want to do something for cancer research. Any number of times, I've been told of someone who's got or had cancer, and how helpless the person has felt. And maybe they haven't turned that feeling into actually doing something at the time they felt it. Or, maybe they hope that no other person should ever go through what their loved ones, or they themselves, have gone through.

As I often quote (from an Amnesty photo on my wall), "Many little things done by many little people will change the face of the world." No one person alone feels powerful enough to make a major difference. And yet, all the people of the past, who've felt that they would do what they could, have advanced the level of treatment to what it is today. Life has been extended by years, and in many cases, life can return to 'normal' without the fear hanging over it.

So... We are 'those people', for the world of the future. What we can do to help today will extend lives, and save lives, in the future. Maybe it will be the life of our child, or grandchild that our efforts save. Or maybe of the life of a friend or partner. Whoever knows.

The alternative is not doing anything. I guess we can all imagine what that means...

No money = no medical advances

no medical advances = no hope

no hope = despair

Ok, that sounds dire. But then, for those who need help, it is. Most just need the knowledge that new advances are being made every day. That is enough. That is hope.

And that is what we can do. We can contribute to making those little medical advances happen every day. We can make a difference!