By: Miranda Burbridge

This week, Akron C.A.R.E.S. is hosting a project which it calls “Fight Back Against.”  Akron C.A.R.E.S. is a student organization of devout advocates for the cure of all cancers.  Almost every family in some way has been affected by cancer, and it remains the leading cause of death for Americans.

While donating money to cancer research and helping cancer patients is important, there is more to fighting cancer than what the American Cancer Society does.  That is where the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) comes in.  ASC CAN lobbies the government to get issues passed to benefit cancer patients and help to prevent cancer.

Remember the days when you had to request the non-smoking section in restaurants?  ACS CAN helped to make that part of the past.  Sure, research and helping patients is important, but so is advocacy.  Finding a cure for cancer will only be beneficial if those patients have health insurance, which is difficult to get with a preexisting condition, such as cancer.

This week, Akron C.A.R.E.S. will have a table set up in the Student Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 12-14 for students to get more information on how to tell Congress they want to see difference made in the fight against cancer, and every one of us should be encouraged to stop by.  It is far too often the cancer research and initiatives are often pushed aside in mainstream politics for other issues.

We need to make our voices heard that cancer research should and always be our highest priority because it affects more Americans than anything else.  It’s time to stand up, speak out and make our voices heard.