So I ran 2 miles tonight and it was just okay. I hate when I come off of a really epic run only to have an average outing the next time (wah wah wah). It was dark, it was hot (90 degrees at 9 PM), and it smelled like skunk! I swear I spent half the time out there on that sidewalk squinting down the way looking for that damn skunk (ain't nobody got time for that)!!! I did alright, averaged 13'59", but it was HARD! I ran uphill the whole time (not really) and I had a hundred pound weight vest on (totally lying about that).
We should move on to some different statistics.........ones that piss me off WAY more than my snails pace on my run tonight.
My Mom was taken from this life 3 days after her 49th birthday by pancreatic cancer 3 years ago. You're probably thinking "that's total BS and its not fair!"............and you're right!
Recently published research states that pancreatic cancer will surpass breast and colon cancer to become the second leading cause of cancer death around the year 2020, bested only by lung cancer. That's only 6 years from now people (I'm really good with numbers). This expectation is due to the fact that pancreatic cancer deaths and incident rates have continued to rise while the same statistics for other leading types of cancer deaths continue to decrease. Why do you think that is? I'll tell because I know the reason......funding and awareness (or lack thereof for pancreatic cancer). This disease has historically been underfunded and that has resulted in a lack of research capability. The study states that "the societal burden of this particularly deadly cancer will become greater in the coming years, and now is the time to allocate the resources and effort necessary to alleviate the suffering caused by this disease".
Part of the problem is that pancreatic cancer receives only 2 percent of the federal dollars distributed by the National Cancer Institute, while lung/colon/breast/and prostate cancer receive 2.8-6.3 times more funding. That is a major problem and it pisses me off!
This is why the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network strives to pull in private donations from events like Purple Stride to help fund research for this killer among us. I am so glad to be a part of Purple Stride Oklahoma each year and proudly represent Team Patti as co-captain with my sister. This Saturday we will gather for a 1 mile fun run and 5k run to raise funding and awareness for pancreatic cancer. Until more federal funding starts pouring in, this is all we've got in the arsenal. Participation in this year's event is overwhelmingly greater than the previous two years and we are so pleased and grateful for that.
Thank you to all who have supported us to by joining Team Patti or donating to this cause! It is so appreciated that I cannot put it into words.
Looking forward to running on Saturday to honor my Mom's memory and hope that one day someone else's life will be saved due to the strides we've made. It all starts somewhere, why not us?
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