Sunday, December 17, 2006
10 million
I recently learned that there are 10 million cancer survivors in the U.S.
To put this number in perspective, I did some research. There are 8 million plus people living in NYC. Supposedly there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. I was surprised to learn that there are only 5 million Jews living in this country. All of these groups of people seem larger in the public consciousness than my fellow cancer survivors.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I felt as thought I'd joined a large sub-culture. I started to learn of other people who were living with cancer, or who had lost loved ones. I don't know if it is a stigma that continues to haunt cancer patients, (victims of the 'c' word) but no one self-identifies as a cancer surivor, the way they do as a Catholic, a college grad or a Mets fan. I've never heard a politician address cancer survivors and the need to cure cancer with the same sort of vehemence that surrounds the illegal immigration debate, at least not since Nixon, who was impeached when I was a toddler.
Maybe we've given-up, maybe most researchers don't really believe there can be a cure. Or maybe our nation's other problems now dwarf the fact that cancer kills half a million Americans a year.
To put this number in perspective, I did some research. There are 8 million plus people living in NYC. Supposedly there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. I was surprised to learn that there are only 5 million Jews living in this country. All of these groups of people seem larger in the public consciousness than my fellow cancer survivors.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I felt as thought I'd joined a large sub-culture. I started to learn of other people who were living with cancer, or who had lost loved ones. I don't know if it is a stigma that continues to haunt cancer patients, (victims of the 'c' word) but no one self-identifies as a cancer surivor, the way they do as a Catholic, a college grad or a Mets fan. I've never heard a politician address cancer survivors and the need to cure cancer with the same sort of vehemence that surrounds the illegal immigration debate, at least not since Nixon, who was impeached when I was a toddler.
Maybe we've given-up, maybe most researchers don't really believe there can be a cure. Or maybe our nation's other problems now dwarf the fact that cancer kills half a million Americans a year.
# posted by Jen @ 12:41 PM 
