Cancer Takes Another

Earlier this evening I received a message about a 42-year-old man who I had met once. A month ago, he and I were at a meeting together where he stood up and introduced himself. A few days ago, I got a e-mail about an urgent need for prayer for him. They had discovered a tumor in his brain and he was going to have surgery Friday (yesterday) morning. We were to pray for him, his wife and family. The tumor was cancerous and aggressive. He died this afternoon. No chance to undergo the chemotherapy and radiation therapy that would have followed in the weeks after the surgery. Why? It's 2009. As we (and trust me, I do worry about things such as "swine flu") worry about all flus, viruses, and other dreadful diseases, we need to ask ourselves -- WHY HASN'T A CURE BEEN FOUND?

This year alone, more than 500,000 Americans will die from cancer. 1.5 million will hear that they have cancer. Yes, cancer survival rates are increasing...more of us than ever are living with the disease. Despite the good, cancer still sucks. Cancer still kills -- in fact, just think about that 500,000 number. In the past 2 years, 1 MILLION people died (actually, the number is a little higher than a million).

So...my question is this -- have we just reached the stage that it just doesn't bother us anymore? Maybe we need to start planting small flags somewhere in the middle of America that represents each person that would die this year, maybe, just maybe someone would take notice and help end cancer.

My prayer is that you never hear those words: you have cancer.

At this moment, please keep the Griffin family in your prayers.

HOPE