Fifteen years ago, I was hard at work at Legacy.com. Dennis and I were empty-nesters. Mom was doing well in Florida and we had traveled to Washington D.C. to watch our son Will graduate from college.
15 years ago, was also the first televised “Stand Up to Cancer” fund-raiser.
The what? I’ll admit it, It’s inaugural launch passed me by.
Started by Katie Couric, the well-known television news and entertainment personality, Stand Up To Cancer evolved after losing both her husband and her sister from colon and breast cancer, respectively. She understood that cancer research was ongoing, but her personal losses drove her to accelerate the pace of that research.
As an ex-journalist, she investigated the reasons why research cycles slowed. Funding always plays a role, but it wasn’t just that. She learned that doctors and researchers often end up in silos; busy working on their own ideas and goals instead of collaborating with others. These great minds were not always sharing important information.
So, as she put it, “I gathered a bunch of my Type A friends” to brainstorm on how to change that. They made calls, called in favors, teamed up with doctors and worked hard towards fulfilling a unique goal. Couric added “we wanted to make some noise” about cancer. The result was “Stand Up to Cancer”; a live television event which would, hopefully, raise awareness and funds for cancer prevention and cancer research.
It became a biennial event. Couric pulled strings to arrange for it to air across 50 channels and platforms simultaneously. In the early years, they spaced musical acts between survivor stories and celebrities standing at a microphone wearing the trademark black Stand Up to Cancer T-shirts. Couric knew how to galvanize the entertainment industry for her cause.
After I finally absorbed the back story of Stand Up to Cancer, I wasn’t going to let another show pass me by this year without watching it.
When it started, I’ll admit that I thought I would see two hours of live performances and more of a “telethon” feel. Comedian Jerry Lewis and his famous Muscular Dystrophy fund-raising efforts came to mind. I thought they would include an active money board displaying the amount raised so far. I could not have been more wrong.
It was an intimate setting. People sat at small round tables. Those guests were oncologists, researchers and survivors. Stories from both survivors and researchers played on a big screen on the stage.
Unbeknownst to me, the format changed in 2023. This year would highlight the organization’s “enduring impact at the forefront of innovative and life-saving cancer research.”
“Ok, less entertainment and more education this time; I still want to stick around,” I thought.
In a word, they are remarkable. Since its inception, Couric and her friends have raised over $746 million to bring together over 3,000 of the best scientists from over 210 leading institutions to collaborate. Their research has contributed to the development of nine new cancer therapies approved by the FDA, and over 270 clinical trials treating over 29,300 patients. They talked about how new MRNA vaccines are in development. A vaccine for cancer??? That is crazy.
The show also took time to point out the organization’s goal of lengthening lives too. I think that is an important point. Some cancers are terminal, but these immunotherapies are successfully extending a person’s life by months or years. Family members call that time a gift.
ALL of this does make me stand up. And I mean STAND up. Stand Up to Cancer is making a difference. It makes me think about my own friends and family members who are fighting this fight right now. Mark. Kimiko. Debbie. David. Kathy. I stand for them. I know that readers here have loved one’s facing cancer right now, too, or possibly they may be fighting it themselves.
Sadly, so many have died. I want to stand up and say their names too.
Linda E. Jan A. Lissa M. Beam B. Natalie G. Mary S. Ray T. Richard V. Ray L. Mark L. Kathy R. Ming L. Cliff B. Sue V. George Gies.
If you have lost a loved one to cancer, please share their first name and an initial for the last name in the comments, and I will add it to the name list above.
Many readers/bloggers here have lost husbands, wives, parents, siblings and dear friends. I know because I read their grieving stories. We’ve even lost the bloggers themselves. I still miss Scotland’s own Mary Smith and her very candid sense of humor.
Several survivors stood up that evening on the telecast. The words “cancer free” were spoken at least 20 times.
I just celebrated the three-year anniversary of my own last chemotherapy session a few days ago. Wow, three years. I remain cancer free.
Bloggers are familiar with Miriam Hurdle, who truly fought for her life back in 2008. Her aggressive cancer was a form of melanoma which grew in several organs. It progressed from stage II to stage IV with many complications. But she too now stands cancer free.
For those who are interested, she wrote a book about her journey, The Winding Road A Journey of Survival. I read it a year ago, and it lays out so many details of her path and her side effects from cancer treatment. Her journey and will to live is truly something. It was also a triumph that her sister Janine survived breast cancer. Here is a link to Miriam’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Winding-Road-Journey-Survival-ebook/dp/B0B86QWXTN
On the evening of August 21st, the work of an amazing group of “Type A” women educated me. And I wanted to write about them and I wanted to stand with them.
Leavingthedooropen.com 
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