By Carrie Stevenson
Today is
World Cancer Day, a chance for people across the globe to
stand together and raise awareness of groundbreaking cancer research, treatment
and prevention.
Stand Up to Cancer is leading a global movement encouraging people to
hold up signs showing who they stand for. These “I Stand Up For…” placards
share, in several different languages, a message of hope for husbands, wives,
parents, children, friends, and patients battling cancer.
“World Cancer Day gives people around the world the opportunity to
support promising research, as well as a platform to recognize loved ones who
are in treatment or recovery and honor those who are gone,” said
NancyDavidson, M.D., director of the
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and
UPMC CancerCenter. “The support of family and caregivers is crucial to
patients, and this movement gives all of us a chance to stand up and honor
their fight.”
At
UPMC, we want to support all those impacted by cancer today. People
like our own Bill Rolland, a staff nurse at UPMC Mercy South Side whose
squamous cell cancer was discovered after he returned from active duty with the
U.S. Army in Kosovo in 2006.
“My treatment was not easy,” said Rolland, who has been cancer free for
five years now. “The staff who performed
my radiation were very important to me since they helped me get through. Many
times I felt like giving up. Without them, I am not sure I could have completed
the treatment.”
Visit the
UPMC CancerCenter Facebook page today to see more stories of
hope from our staff about their own journeys as patients, survivors and
caregivers. In the comments section below, tell us who you would like to stand
up for.