“This is where the END of CANCER BEGINS…” is how it started off when all three major networks joined together to bring attention to one cause…finding a cure for cancer! One hour…60 minutes…3,600 seconds of testimonies, statistics, survivors, fighters, research, donations…a telethon featuring many of Hollywood’s A-list to raise money for cancer research.

Losing my father to lung cancer in 1999 was not just a battle he fought, but a battle our entire family fought and it seems, even 9 years later…we are still fighting. Fighting the loneliness, fighting the grief and fighting the emptiness that still consumes us. We fight to stay strong, although our hearts are sometimes weak…my father would not want us to give up or stop living. He was a fighter. Cancer is a battle that stays with you…when one person loses the fight to cancer, in reality more than just one person has lost. My entire family lost in 1999 and we are still feeling that loss today in 2008!

I believe most of my friends have had their lives touched by cancer in some way. I believe we all have felt heartache, the sadness, the helplessness, the ANGER and the SCARE that comes from one single word…cancer. I do hope a cure will be found. Lets all STAND UP 2 CANCER! To make a donation visit StandUp2Cancer.org.

have a blessed day~cass

***EDITED*** PRAYER FOR JASMINE’S MOM :
After my blog post last night, I was doing my usual Friday “date” night with my computer and checking out some photography blogs. Jasmine Star, one of my favorite bloggers & one of my favorite photographers, had a post which made me tear up. Click here to read. I wanted to ask for everyone to send prayers out for her, her Mom & their entire family. Her mother, who is a brain cancer survivor, just found out that doctors found a lump on her thyroid. Jasmine has been an inspiration to me, not only as a photographer…but also as a person. Her faith, her humor, her willingness to share and help others are just a “few” of the wonderful qualities she possesses. She has been a force that has helped me push myself to achieve…push myself to believe and push myself to dream. She is a blessing, although we have never met in person…she is someone I consider a friend, a colleague and she is someone I respect & greatly ADMIRE. I imagine she has all these amazing qualities because of the manner in which her Mother & Father raised her. So please take a minute to say a prayer for Jasmine’s Mom…I know she would do the same for anyone else.