As a child, I was fortunate enough to live close enough to all of my grandparents that I could visit them often. My Dad’s father unfortunately development lung cancer later in his life. Although he fought hard for several years, he finally passed away in 2001 to the disease.

At the time of his death, I never gave it much thought. I just assumed that this was a part of life. You live, you grow old, you develope a disease that your body cannot fight off, and you die. But now that I have become more exposed to and aware of cancer, I realize that old age does not have to be associated with cancer. With more funding for cancer research, we could prevent pre-mature death like my grandfather. There is absolutely no reason why he could not have enjoyed his life well into his 90’s if not longer.

Cancer is not necessarily a part of life. This is does not have to be the way it is.

-Rich Ralph (Vancouver, BC)