We Don’t Have Cancer
What if we dealt with cancer like we deal with racism?
Black Pride
“Why can black people have black pride but white people can’t have white pride?”
Why is it okay for someone to be a “proud cancer survivor,” but I can’t be “a proud person who has never experienced cancer?”
Black people experience a cancer: injustice in the legal system, discrimination when hiring people with “black” names on their resumes, “stop and frisks” without cause, and a ton of other things.
When black people don’t let the cancer win, they experience pride.
And it’s a group experience, and it does not include us, because we are not cancer survivors.
I’m feeling left out. Are you? I haven’t experienced cancer, but I’ve experienced a lack of cancer.
We should have a day to celebrate that we don’t experience racial injustice. We should celebrate that our grandparents got to drink out of the fountain on the left instead of the fountain on the right:
Happy I Haven’t Had Cancer Day! That would make everything fair.
All Lives Matter
There’s a rally for breast cancer awareness.
It’s astonishing, but all they seem to talk about is breast cancer. They don’t even mention brain cancer, leukemia, or prostate cancer, or other causes of death like disease, car wrecks or suicide. It’s like if you haven’t had breast cancer, you can’t be in their special little club.
But…people matter who fight any form of cancer. All people with disease matter. Heck, all people without disease matter. All lives matter!
I want to go to an inclusive rally. I want people to march with signs that say ’“I have not been impacted by breast cancer” and “My mom did not die from breast cancer.”
Because all lives matter.
I Have Morals
If you google “worst charities,” you’ll find the Kids Wish Network at the top of almost every list. Unlike the Make-A-Wish Foundation, this “charity” uses less than 3 cents for every dollar to help kids.
It’s shameful, and I don’t agree with that.
So now you see why I don’t support sick kids at all. If it weren’t for this organization’s questionable values, I would definitely be sympathetic to the cause. But to me, hospitalized children represent greed and tax fraud.
Prove It
My friend “Alicia” often told me about her friend, Tracy, who had cancer. Because of her financial situation, Alicia invited Tracy to move in. She paid all her bills. She put on fundraisers for her treatment and drove her to her chemo appointments. Through this experience, they became very close.
Tracy sounded like an amazing person! Through her efforts, hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised for breast cancer research. Local newspapers called her a “breast cancer survivor” and a “reluctant hero.”
Until it was found that Tracy had been faking it the whole time.
She never had cancer. Ever. Hundreds of people contributed to her living expenses and her “treatment.”
In fact, people faking cancer is more common than you might think.
Since learning this, I’ve decided that when someone tells me they have cancer, I need to see proof. Show me a doctor’s note, and then I’ll believe you.
Maybe.
I could have reason to doubt your note if I don’t like the hospital your doctor works at, or if I suspect you printed out a forgery from the internet. In that case, you must take me to one of your appointments and allow me to quiz your health professionals while examining their credentials. Only then will I feel compassion for you.
Sure, there are people who legitimately have cancer. I totally feel bad for them. But it’s hard to know for sure what’s true, so I just keep an open mind and keep researching.
When I know the truth, then I can be compassionate.
Negativity
Everyone is talking about cancer and how bad it is and what causes it.
Um, how about we talk about what DOESN’T cause cancer? I’ll start: Blueberries, cats, singing, vitamin D, spaghetti…I could go on.
Not all things cause cancer.
Special Treatment
I’ve been thinking: Why are there charitable programs to provide wigs for kids with cancer? What about elderly women experience baldness? Those kids didn’t do anything special to deserve it. They haven’t made a big contribution to society.
And these people in wheelchairs — why do people install ramps for them? Technically, isn’t that reverse discrimination? On the inside, we are all the same. Let’s act like it.
I don’t think it’s right for any vulnerable population to get special treatment. I won’t hold the door open for someone in a wheelchair. And if your friend’s dealing with cancer, I don’t think you should acknowledge it — and especially don’t pay their bills or do them any favors.
That’s just giving someone an unfair advantage.
