Imagine a world where cancer is no longer a devastating force. A world where people stand united, spreading awareness, and fighting for the future free from disease. On World Cancer Day, people come together to honor those affected, raise awareness, and inspire action.
February 4 will mark the celebration of the 24-year anniversary of World Cancer Day. This was created by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). UICC wants to share improvements on education, awareness and government action.
The UICC pushes to create a world without millions of cancer deaths and instead provide life saving cancer treatments for everyone.
World Cancer Day has a theme, this year the theme is named “Close the Care Gap”. This was chosen to make sure leaders know that the world demands a focus on cancer and a push towards a cancer free world.
This gap affects most people. The UICC website states, “You might feel like the equity gap doesn’t impact you personally, but it likely does affect someone you know. While it’s more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries, well-resourced countries show dramatic disparities too. It’s almost guaranteed that the gap affects you or people in your community.”
Joseph A. Foran High School does a few things dedicated to cancer such as the yellow and pink out football games, the fall sports volleyball game, the basketball games on January 24, and more.
Science teacher Mrs. Melissa Smith teaches a unit about cell development. She has been teaching this unit for five years.
This unit can be difficult to teach sometimes for reasons like it being sensitive to the kids closely affected by cancer. This unit is to show kids how the cells get developed, cancer is a part of the unit since those cells will grow abnormally.
Smith states, “One of the reasons we went with teenage melanoma is because we teach teenagers and sometimes kids think cancer is just something for older people. So we are hoping talking about cells differentiating and changing, they realize that they can and should be taking precautions now to prevent cancer later.”
Paraprofessional Mrs. Dawn Morrissey is going to be cancer free in May for her seventh year. Throughout her battle, she did a year of chemotherapy, along with a month and a half of radiation.
Morrissey states, “If I am being honest there were some days that the pain was too much, and I would just break down and cry, but that is where I would lean on my support.”
She would get support from her wife, Jane Morrissey, her neighbors, friends and family. They would help with cooking meals, cutting the lawn and so much more.
To show support wear blue and orange on February 4 or donate on the Close The Care Gap website.
