The Voice

Livestrong wristbands, pink ribbons, fundraisers–they’re everywhere. And sadly, so are cancer victims.

We all know someone with some form of cancer, either directly or indirectly.

In our youth, we may feel invincible to cancer and think we’ll never be diagnosed. But what we don’t realize is the actions we’re taking now will have consequences in our future.

Studies show that men who have two alcoholic drinks a day and women who have one have an increased chance of developing certain cancers. The risk rises as the number of drinks increases.

As for smoking, those who drink heavily and smoke cigarettes are at even higher risk for those cancers.

If you’re a female, look around you. According to the American Cancer Society, one out of three girls you’re looking at will develop a form of cancer in her lifetime. And for males, it’s one out of every two.

This year, nearly 15,000 Georgians alone are estimated to die from cancer.

These harsh facts are as scary to us as they are to you, but we can say we’re proud of the students at GC&SU for being so deeply involved with the fight against cancer.

Many people will donate their money before their time to help cancer victims, but at GC&SU, students don’t think twice about donating their time to raise money.

Many GC&SU students, staff and faculty members are donating their time, along with residents of Baldwin County to Relay for Life next weekend to raise money for cancer research and for the American Cancer Society.

Two sororities on campus, Zeta Tau Alpha and Sigma Alpha Omega, recognize the need to support breast cancer awareness-which 32 percent of women are expected to be diagnosed with-through their philanthropies. Greek organizations tend to have bad reputations and they’re not recognized for their philanthropy like they should be.

You may not know someone suffering right now, but according to the staggering statistics provided by the American Cancer Society, some day you probably will.

We hope, like many who have been affected by it, that there will be a cure for cancer, but without our time and dedication, it may never happen.

What is one step on a track, one dollar in a bucket, or a few hours of time in the battle against the second biggest killer in the United States?

If you aren’t already doing something: GO DO IT. If you are one of the millions who are involved, on behalf of all those who can’t say it, “Thanks.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 1 2005. Filed under Our Voice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry