How To Cure Cancer

Care.

Yep. That’s it. That’s the cure. If you want it in detail, read the rest….

My wife, Bethany Gladhill, and I faced a major scare over the weekend. She had all the signs and symptoms of Inflammatory |kaeba|referrer|kkytr
Breast Cancer. Of all of the forms of breast cancer, it is one of the most deadly, that takes far too many (and, any is too many) way too young.

Luckily, for us, her biopsy came back negative. Turned out to be a ruptured cyst (which has identical symptoms and detection procedures). Unfortunately, most do not.

Look, we can send robots to Mars and upgrade their software from earth in minutes. We can pour trillions into elections only to produce the same outcomes we have had for 200 years. Or…

We could be taking the collective wealth and knowledge of our society and saving the lives of millions and those that love them by ensuring that no one has to face cancer ever again. No, it is not as sexy as robots on Mars and not as entertaining as watching Washington mudslinging and gridlock but… It matters.

Start. Today.

Not by buying more crap you don’t need (even the pink crap). Not by throwing a dollar into a cup and calling the job done.

As a species , we have proven that there is nothing we can’t do if we set out to do so. We have cured the incurable countless times before. I fervently believe that, if we can send robots to Mars and fix elections with money, we can cure cancer. All it takes is the same thing it always has for every one of those challenges…

Care.

But, care scales. In order to tackle the big problems the more people who do it the more likely it is to succeed.

Start by educating yourself and those around you. Start by sitting in empathy and practicing mindful and compassionate listening to those who have been there (trust me, we all know someone). Then, continue by raising awareness and supporting in any way possible (money, time, attention, etc.) those organizations who are active on the front lines of this fight.

Because, what got robots to Mars, put men on the Moon, ends famine and war, and, yes, even elects presidents, is the power of that one simple, yet powerful, word set into action and collectivized.

It even is the secret to curing cancer.

Remainders 07.19.2012

I will say that one thing I have missed about Twitter so far is the ability to quickly and succinctly share links to things I have found useful or otherwise enjoyed. I used to do that regularly, pre-Twitter, on patrickrhone.com in a regular feature I called “Remainders”. It would seem that there is no better time to start that back up again and to share these things with you.

Here, in no particular order, are some things I have really been enjoying lately…

  • Caesura Letters — My friend James Shelly’s smart, philosophical, mindful subscription newsletter. Fantastic writing, deep thought, and enlightenment. It makes me excited to open my inbox each day and makes me smarter with each one. Seriously. Use the link before for 40% off (only $3.99 a month).

  • Seven Summits by Dick Bass, Frank Wells, Rick Ridgeway — A wonderful book, given to me by a friend, about two guys who set out to be the first people to climb the highest summit on every continent in the world. They were both in their fifties, untrained, unprepared, and outmatched for the task. Yet, despite all of it, they had a dream and they chased it. It’s quite compelling and in line with some research I have been doing into the idea that accomplishment can become an addiction.

  • Nike+ Running for iPhone on the iTunes App Store — I’ve been using this to track my runs and have found it quite fun. It does a good job of giving me just enough of what I need and nothing I don’t. Plus, it has Path integration and I enjoy the fact I can share my runs there and people can comment on them or cheer me on.

  • Path — Speaking of which, this is where I have been sharing and having conversations while taking a sabbatical from Twitter. I love, love, love, this app. It feels so much more comfortable to me. I wish more of my friends were on it but I’m happy with the way I get to engage with the ones that are.