Mr. Armstrong goes to Washington

JADot

Hi All:

Before cancer I was a cyclist and a Lance fan. After cancer, still a cyclist, I've truly come to understand what a hero he really is. Lance carried the hopes and dreams of every cancer survivor when he won his 7 tour titles, the 1st of which was won a mere 3 years after his cancer (stage 4) diagnosis. He was given a less than 10% to live, but live he did, triumphantly, and he showed the world the heart and soul of a cancer survivor and a winner.

Now retired from cycling, Lance is refocusing his energy into cancer cure advocacy. Once again, he's fighting along the side of all of us, against the disease, apathy, and funding cuts.

Below is an article I found from his web site www.thepaceline.com, which talks about a rally in Washington that the LiveStrong group organized in May. There is a picture of the event at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2006-05-17-armstong-livestrong_x.htm.

Isn’t it great to have the world’s greatest cancer survivor and athlete on our team?

Ying

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Armstrong takes cancer fight to Capitol Hill
Updated 5/18/2006

By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON This time it really isn't about the bike.

Lance Armstrong and 100 of his best friends swarmed Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, but they weren't riding bikes or racing.

It was LiveStrong Day in the nation's capital, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation brought in two people from each state most of them cancer survivors or caregivers to lobby their congressional representatives for more cancer research funds, with the eventual goal of curing cancer.

At an afternoon rally framed by the U.S. Capitol dome, Armstrong orated like a polished politician, or perhaps a general.

"This is bigger than winning seven Tours," he intoned with his yellow-clad troops phalanxed behind him.

"I have the history, the passion, the time and the army."

Armstrong has been glad-handing politicians with his inspirational message of hope.

At a Tuesday night reception at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, he insisted the cancer battle is a bipartisan effort.

He did criticize the Bush administration for cutting taxes while also cutting the budget for the National Cancer Institute.

"Taking from the poor and giving to the rich has never been a good policy," he told the audience, which included Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and dozens of congressional staffers.

"We want the hard questions asked," Armstrong said, pointing out that 600,000 Americans die every year from cancer. "And remember, we vote."

Armstrong did bring up cycling when he mentioned he and a friend rode the famous Tour de France stage on L'Alpe d'Huez on Sunday.

"I only did it once," he said. "The days of doing three times (in a row) are long gone."

lfondots63

Hi JADot!!

This is great! We need more celebraties to do this. I think more people pay attention when it is a big celebrity. Very cool.

Lisa

alta29

This is was I was talking about the other day ( I'm sorry , but english is not my first language, so somethings i cannot say the correct words. The good thing is that is better if he goes... hahahahh he will make a better impact than me....LOL
But anyways my point the other day was that...we need to find a cure....is not enough to do regular check ups...I know diets have a lot to do but not always..i dont thing is has anything to do with breast cancer, or brain cancer or prostate cancer...I have heard so many stories about people that are vegetarians and where dx with colon cancer....
Besides the point...I'm sooooooooo glad he is going......should we join him...???? I'm sure we can ALL share our stories.....maybe send letters...a huge card with our signatures( I'm not good with ideas, but someone else may be)....read the other day that we the semi-colons are kinda famous, right ???Lets give him a hand....( to support him for a CURE for ALL cancers )Lets have them fight as hard as WE are...

KathiM

Ying,
Thanks for sharing...I missed the article.
Did you know that Lance IGNORED his cancer at first...his gonads were the size of tennis balls, according to one source!
So, not only do we have to raise awareness, but also raise the fact that the EARLIER cancer is found, the EASIER it is to survive! And some, like colorectal cancer, can even be PREVENTED (those darn little polyps). And look what is happening with HPV and ovarian cancer...
Today I went for a CT scan..the tech and I talked about the new machine that was being installed...combo PET/CT scanner...so, not only soft tissue changes (CT scan) will be found, but the Metabolizing uptake cells (PET scan) will then be done together...and can be overlayed for even BETTER diagnosis!
Hugs, Kathi

JADot

KathiM said:

Ying,
Thanks for sharing...I missed the article.
Did you know that Lance IGNORED his cancer at first...his gonads were the size of tennis balls, according to one source!
So, not only do we have to raise awareness, but also raise the fact that the EARLIER cancer is found, the EASIER it is to survive! And some, like colorectal cancer, can even be PREVENTED (those darn little polyps). And look what is happening with HPV and ovarian cancer...
Today I went for a CT scan..the tech and I talked about the new machine that was being installed...combo PET/CT scanner...so, not only soft tissue changes (CT scan) will be found, but the Metabolizing uptake cells (PET scan) will then be done together...and can be overlayed for even BETTER diagnosis!
Hugs, Kathi

Hi Kathi:

You're right on with the early detection stuff for sure, which is why the advocacy work you're doing for screening is so important. Hurrah for early detection!

The combo machine sounds good - the best part - drink the goo only once and you get two tests done. That alone is worth celebrating for me.

I am beaming some clear scan waves your way for your CT today ~~~~~clear~scan~~~~clear~~~~~clear~~~~~

Cheers,
Ying