For the 22nd year in a row, survivors of cancer and their families and friends will gather together in hundreds of communities throughout the world to affirm the fact that there is indeed life after a cancer diagnosis – even following a mesothelioma cancer diagnosis, a disease which has no known cure and is considered to be one of the most fatal forms of cancer.
Sponsored by the non-profit National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, the National Cancer Survivors Day celebration is the world’s largest and fastest-growing annual cancer survivor event. Initiated in the U.S. but currently observed in 16 countries worldwide, Cancer Survivors Day festivities include a wide variety of events from 5K runs, carnivals, and concerts to raise money for cancer research to workshops, inspirational programs, and other educational events for cancer survivors and their families. Food and fun is always a part of the festivities and a feeling of triumph prevails throughout these celebrations of life.
Throughout the year, the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation supports hospitals and other cancer-related organizations interested in hosting Survivors Day festivities by providing them with educational materials and networking guidance to help them organize a successful Survivors Day event, noting that their major goal is to “educate the public on the issues of cancer survivorship in order to better the quality of life for cancer survivors.”
A survivor is defined as anyone living with a history of cancer. An estimated 12 million cancer survivors live in the U.S. and millions more in other countries, empowered by a growing list of successful drugs and treatments designed to fight specific cancers. Even individuals with such hard-to-treat cancers as mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused disease, are now living well beyond the expected six months to two years, thanks to novel therapies like the mesothelioma treatment drug Alimta®, the first USDA-approved chemotherapy drug designed specifically for the treatment of that aggressive form of cancer. Alimta® is typically paired with Cisplatin®, another cancer-fighting drug.
Physicians like Dr. David Jablons, M.D., chief of thoracic surgery at University of California San Francisco, continue to dispense the latest in mesothelioma information and cutting-edge treatments for victims of this thoracic cancer, insuring that – someday – mesothelioma patients may be added to the long list of survivors celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day with their loved ones.
To locate the nearest National Cancer Survivors Day event, check with your local hospital or American Cancer Society office, or call the Foundation at (615) 794-3006.
