Fighting cancer a dollar at a time
Marion Star
06/14/2009

As editor of this newspaper I serve as a sort of umpire. It's my job to ensure the objectivity of our daily report. That's one
of the reasons that you will rarely see my opinion on a local topic in this column.

In most instances, my opinion doesn't count.

Across the page from this column, in the editorial slot, you will see, in local editorials, the opinion of The Star as
expressed by our editorial board. While I am the one who writes the majority of the local opinions, I am not always in
agreement with them.

That is, however, another topic.

On this side of the page I try to write mostly on the mechanics of the newspaper. It is supposed to be why or how we do
things here. Again, often, my opinion doesn't matter. Our operational rules are based mainly on the standard rules of
modern journalism.

I am not an especially private person. I don't care if people know my phone number or my child's name or my personal
history. My personal opinion, however, whether it is on politics, sports, religion or just about anything else, I tend to share
only with the closest personal friends.

I always tell people my favorite sports team is the Montreal Expos. It's hard to step on anyone's toes rooting for a team
that disappeared in 2004.

I am an unapologetic advocate for one thing: The eradication of cancer.

I am a two-time survivor of cancer. I beat prostate cancer in 2001 and rectal cancer in 2006. But, saying I beat those
diseases isn't entirely accurate.

I didn't do anything. The person who did the most work was my wife. She made sure I made my appointments. She kept
me healthy during treatments. She offered the support and advice that kept me focused. It was the doctors and nurses
that did the actual fighting. I was merely the battlefield. I had determined and skilled doctors. I was blessed with dedicated
and artful nurses. I just showed up when I was supposed to.

When I got home from the hospital in 2006, my life was profoundly changed and I was left with a vexing dilemma. How do
you say thank you when you know that words can't express the true depth of your feelings?

That's when the folks from Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society came into my life.

Nobody, except for the federal government, makes more money available for cancer research than the American Cancer
Society. And the largest community fund-raiser for The American Cancer Society is Relay For Life.

So, I am the captain of a Relay team. And, I am on the organizing committee of Relay For Life of Marion County.

Last weekend, at the conclusion of our Relay at River Valley High School, I was given an advocacy award from my fellow
committee members. 'You have helped raise the voice of our mission,' the award read in part. I was humbled, of course. I
don't ever think I do enough. But I was also troubled by the word 'advocacy.' I am an editor, an umpire, I am not supposed
to be for one side or another.

Later, as I looked at the photos of dozens of purple-shirted cancer survivors circling the track at the start of our event, my
troubled feeling were replaced with pride.

I don't believe I fought cancer when I let other people take care of me and cure me. I do believe I am fighting cancer now.

I do believe I am making an impact. I know that cancer's worst enemy is money. It is money that will pay for research. It is
money that will provide services for cancer patients. It is money that will eventually find a cure and end the suffering.

What I like about Relay is that we raise thousands of dollars, one dollar at a time. If you have a dollar you can fight
cancer. There's nothing greater than that.

Tom Graser is the managing editor of The Marion Star.