Cancer. It has to be the most frightening word in the English language. Actually, in any language, as cancer touches everyone, directly or indirectly, everywhere.
I lost my wife two years ago, my sister-in-law sixteen years ago, and my niece this past summer to this wicked disease. I also have numerous colleagues and friends who have lost loved ones.
But there is hope. You see, I also have close friends who have beaten the disease – many friends. But they did not do so alone. They had support – and lots of it. Emotional, of course, but also financial. The kind of support that gives us hope that cancer cannot only be beaten, but is also being beaten, every day. It’s the kind of support that enables researchers like those at the Princess Margaret Hospital to make significant, life-saving advances and to share these advances with the world.
We are, after all, in this together.
Having camped out in cancer wards, I have also met many people who have lost their hair while undergoing treatment. And I have always viewed the loss of hair as a badge of honour, and that the person who lost their hair deserved the utmost respect – the same sort of respect that is reserved for veterans and first responders. These people are in the fight of their life. This is also a fight that ultimately benefits us all because with every setback and victory, large or small, we learn more about how to contain and eradicate this insidious disease.
So, to honour those I have lost and to support those who fight for us all, I will make my hair disappear – with pleasure – onFebruary 4, World Cancer Day. I am doing this to support those who have no choice, and to raise awareness and, more importantly, money for cancer research and for the #NoHairSelfie movement.