For every loss, there is hope

Sunday night, Peter Jennings died following a battle against lung cancer. Today, Dana Reeves announced her own battle against the disease. And those are only two of the thousands of stories that could be told in this country, much less worldwide. Most of them stay silent.

I would daresay that everyone reading this has been affected by cancer on some level. My grandfather had prostate cancer and died two years ago of lymphoma. My great-grandmother died of cervical cancer before I was born. My dad has precancerous lesions that are the precursors of the same lymphoma that killed my grandfather. For many others, their losses and battles are more personal. But for others, there are stories of survival.

Yesterday, at the end of one of his stories, one of our reporters mentioned his own battle with cancer - something that none of us in the newsroom knew about. Today when I commended him on his remarks, he told us that he has survived both testicular and lung cancer, and has been cancer-free since 2002. He has been at this station for as long as I have, but had never talked about his previous illness before. Before yesterday, when a journalist whom he admired died of the disease that he'd fought, and he knew it was important to stand up and tell his story.

That's a reminder that for as many people who don't win their own battles against cancer, there are survivors. Just like a lot of the people who die, their names aren't known, but they bear the scars just like the survivors of any war. And as researchers continue to look for treatments and vaccines and other methods to end the fight, more and more people can stand up and say that they are cancer-free. They can stand as examples of where money has saved lives, and will save more. Like, hopefully, Dana Reeve's.

I've worn a LiveStrong bracelet for months, but like most ornaments, it had lost its meaning a bit. Now I plan on making another donation to cancer research and support - not only in memory of Peter Jennings and the other people we've lost, but in support of Mike Browning and the other people who are still around. And I hope that everyone takes this opportunity to learn more about what you can do to make cancer history instead of reality.

LiveStrong
American Cancer Society
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Sarah Cannon Cancer Center
Cancer Research UK
Gilda's Club