By STEVE PRICE
September 8, 2006

Innocence is a fabled existence for most of us as our school years begin to ebb away. We are forced to confront the cold, harsh reality that people our own age are being killed overseas, never to experience the wonders of the world we have at our fingertips. The fears of missing the game on Saturday night are coupled with the fear of rising gasoline prices, hurricanes that destroy lives, and learning to exist in the real world outside the sheltered halls of the college campus. These concerns can trouble us on a daily basis, but they are worlds away from the pain that comes from seeing the effects of a disease like cancer first-hand.

With each passing generation comes the purging of diseases. Hideous, crippling afflictions like polio and smallpox were troubles of the past that have long since gone from being a scourge to the public to little more than an afterthought. Sadly, we have no such luxury with cancer. Despite our ability to walk on the moon and communicate with people half way around the world instantaneously, there is no known cure for cancer. The disease takes many forms, and can be brutally devastating in all of them. Myths about the disease have been erased with the sobering reminder that never touching a cigarette is hardly a safeguard against developing cancer.

The effects of cancer are staggering. Nearly a quarter of all deaths in the United States can be attributed to cancer. Marriages are ended, friends and family members are taken away in a bitter manner. Cancer deserves its reputation as a terrible condition. Yet it is an affliction which can be beaten. It is a responsibility of this generation to fight the disease, every step of the way.

Doctors are developing new treatments which help better the chance of survival in patients. The public is being better informed on the nature of the disease, and ways to help prevent it from occurring are being discovered. There are organizations like the American Cancer Society and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital that need our support. Every day brings us closer to a cure.

If you have lost someone close to cancer, then you understand the void that it creates in your life. If you have been fortunate enough not to witness this terrible disease first hand, then understand that no one is immune. Adults and children alike can develop cancer, and it is vital that everyone know how to better protect themselves.

But most importantly, it is vital that everyone understands what cancer is, and what we can do to help eliminate it. I realize that no cure to the disease can bring back a lost loved one, but it can help prevent someone else in your life, or even yourself from developing the disease someday.

The great Jim Valvano is poignantly remembered for a speech he gave just two months before his death. He assured us that cancer could not touch his mind, nor his heart, nor his soul. One day, cancer wont be able to touch our bodies, either. I pray that we all get to see that day, very soon.

For more information about the fight against cancer -- and how you can participate -- see websites for the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org), and the National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov).