Miles in their shoes

May 23 has come and gone like almost any other day. Nothing like May 23, 2017, when I heard the words “you have cancer.” It was not quite that blunt; the doctor said that my biopsy showed malignancies that needed to be removed. Six years later, following a successful surgery and a series of PSA reports showing “no detectable cancers,” I am as happy and healthy as 72-year-old who does not exercise enough could hope to be.

Not everyone is as fortunate as I was, with ready access to high quality health care and a loving, supportive wife. When asked, almost all of us can say that we know someone who has been touched by cancer (the statistics are one out of every two men and one out of every three women). The statistics bear this out: more than 600,000 people from across the United States and more than 6,300 Iowans died from cancer in 2022; over 1.9 million people in the United States and more than 20,000 people in Iowa first heard the dreaded words “You have cancer” in the past 12 months.

I am not a doctor or a research scientist, so that the only way I can actually do something about the human side of these numbers is through volunteering for and financially supporting the work of the American Cancer Society. Helping fund the research and education programs of the American Cancer Society is a tangible way to save lives and prevent deaths from cancer.

The American Cancer Society continues to be the largest source of private cancer research funding in the United States. The 33 percent decline in cancer mortality rates since 1991 is due, in no small part, to the education and research work of the American Cancer Society to reach its vision to “end cancer as we know it, for everyone.”

The $3.1 billion that the American Cancer Society has invested in cancer research since 1991 has contributed to 3.5 million fewer cancer deaths over that same time period. These research dollars are at work across the country in laboratories and other research settings, including more than $2 million in grants in effect at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. Forty-nine Nobel Laureates were funded by the American Cancer Society early in their careers. Their discoveries have contributed to medical advances across all disease categories — not just cancer.

The impact of the American Cancer Society is broader than its world-class research programs. The clear, evidence-based information on cancer diagnosis and treatment is available to everyone at no cost 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.cancer.org. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people dealing with cancer or their families or friends or caregivers can dial 1-800-ACS-2345 any time of the day or night and reach a trained social worker who can respond to their questions or just be a friendly, supportive voice.

In 2022 alone, The Russ and Ann Gerdin American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Iowa City provided over 9,300 nights of free lodging to almost 600 guests receiving cancer treatment at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, resulting in a savings of almost $1.7 million that would have otherwise been spent on lodging. In addition, the American Cancer Society partnered with health systems across the state to provide $120,000 to support transportation assistance for their cancer patients, and additional $40,000 to assist with lodging needs, helping 747 cancer patients in 88 Iowa counties.

The American Cancer Society’s advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, worked collaboratively with its partners to advocate for the passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act, so that all of us can take our families to restaurants, free of second hand smoke. In addition, it took the lead to assure the expansion of Medicaid expansion for lower-income Iowans and the passage of legislation to require our schools to test for and mitigate radon so that our students are not exposed to radon, the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Iowans.

The impact of the American Cancer Society is prevalent across the state of Iowa, and I am proud to have been a volunteer for the American Cancer Society for over 45 years. To support the Linn County Relay for Life and raise money for the American Cancer Society, I am walking from Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids to the Hope Lodge in Iowa City on Saturday, June 17. As the old saying goes, “you cannot understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” My shoes will be walking in the shoes of all of those who have faced cancer in their lives.

Your financial support will truly enhance the lives of all Iowans and would be very much appreciated. Online donations can be made by going to relayforlife.org/linncountyia, scroll down to my team — Gary’s Gang, click this and then click the green donate button on the right side.

Gary Streit of Cedar Rapids is a longtime American Cancer Society volunteer and a cancer survivor. He served as chair of the National Board of Directors for both the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He has raised more than $1 million as a Relay for Life participant in Linn County since 1990. His wife, Susan, is also a cancer survivor.