If you are using social media (at least Facebook) you may see a lot of profile pictures washed in purple as part of World Cancer Day today. There are all kinds of good ways to support cancer research, cancer patients and survivors, health care professionals, and caregivers.
I have a friend who begins chemo tomorrow. She’ll beat this.
Cancer sucks.
I’m not going purple today. Instead I’ve picked up the phone and shared a call to action.
The Georgia Senate Natural Resources Committee is meeting this afternoon to consider SB 299, which will strip away water protection and leave us just as exposed and vulnerable as the people in West Virginia. I called and left a message asking Chair Ross Tolleson to vote NO on this bill.
Yesterday a shuttered Duke Energy coal plant spilled at least 50,000-82,000 pounds of coal ash and 27 Million gallons of water into the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina. The coal ash and water are saturated with cancer causing heavy metals and toxins that never “go away” or evaporate.
There are all kinds of ways we can support cancer patients today, and tomorrow, and the day after that. The ribbons and the walks are fine, but we also need to have the hard discussions about what we are doing to the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Because cancer sucks.