F-Cancer.
A year ago this month, I lost my dad to throat cancer. As I process this anniversary, I am witnessing in my heart the grief I share with so many others who have walked this path.
Me (first row, second from left) participating in a protest against chemical pollution in Michigan, 2000.
I started my career as an environmental organizer. The campaign I was assigned to support was one that a community in Detroit had been fighting for years; shutting down - not one - two medical waste incinerators in their neighborhood. The primary pollutant in those days from facilities like that was dioxin, a potent carcinogen, released when plastics were burned without proper pollution control equipment.
So at the ripe young age of 22, I got an education on environmental in/justice, and fast. I learned about carcinogens, their disproportionate impact on communities of color, and their prevalence in our everyday environment. I organized rallies, canvassed with neighbors, planned media events, and testified before city councils. It was exhilarating, and also exhausting.
Eventually, the neighbors won their campaign and the incinerators closed. By that point, I had moved to Portland to do a different sort of environmental work. But I never forgot the lessons I learned about carcinogens from a community that fought to save themselves and each other from their devastating effects in their air and water.
25 years later, I was faced with my dad’s cancer diagnosis. A life-long artist, jeweler, sculptor, and woodworker, he was exposed to innumerable chemicals. We’ll never really know what caused my dad’s cancer, but chemical exposure was probably a contributor.
I am sharing this with you, my dear reader, because I know from the incidence of cancer in the U.S. alone that it affects nearly 1 in 3 of us. That doesn’t count those of us who love someone who is fighting cancer or who has lost a loved one to the disease.
I made this for you.
This card is for anyone affected by cancer, who needs some encouragement. I made this for all the cancer fighters, caregivers, family members, friends and healthcare workers helping us through the crap-tastic journey that is cancer.
Also available at wholesale pricing for my retailer friends at my shop on Faire.
Much love,
Molly
P.S. Please post in the comments below what you think of this blog post. I love to hear from readers.
