It seems like more and more I know someone who is being diagnosed or battling cancer, and inevitably you hear shouts from the peanut gallery saying things like, “Fuck cancer!” or “We can send a man to the moon but we can’t cure cancer?”
My friends, I think it’s time we wake up and take responsibility for our own lives. It’s obvious and apparent that we cannot depend on anyone else to keep us healthy or fix us when we aren’t. In 1950, 45% of adults admitted to regularly smoking cigarettes, we’re talking about the tobacco variety here. In 1954, a study proved a correlation between smoking and early death in men. Because the tobacco industry had such large financial resources, they were able to hold these findings from the public until several decades later. Tobacco is ranked as a Class One Carcinogen by the World Health Organization. A Class One Carcinogen is something that has been proven to cause cancer in humans.
Today, it would be no big surprise for a cigarette smoker to learn they have lung cancer. Conversely, when we hear of smokers getting lung cancer, our initial response probably isn’t, “we can put a man on the moon, but we can’t cure lung cancer?” We know what causes lung cancer, and while first-hand cigarette smoke isn’t the only cause, we are aware that avoiding cigarette smoke will drastically reduce our risk of developing lung cancer.
Did you also know that processed meats such as bacon, sausage, lunch meat, hotdogs, etc. have also been declared Class One Carcinogens by the World Health Organization? Think about that….keep thinking…. Think about how common it is for Americans of all ages to consume these items, think about the quantities and frequency they consume them. Is it any wonder why we’re seeing dramatic increases in cancer? It’s time we stop the bacon jokes. It’s time we wake up and realize that we can make choices to avoid ingesting items that have been proven to cause cancer. But bacon is so good, right? As a former smoker, I can tell you that a Camel Light is delicious, but I know better now. As rational, intelligent humans, we can determine the distinction between what is “good” and what is “good for you” and we can make decisions to avoid the items that are not good for us. Furthermore, we can educate our children and avoid giving them foods that have been proven to cause cancer.
So, next time you’re tempted to say “F#ck cancer, “maybe add in “F#ck bacon” as well because then you may actually be preventing yourself or others from getting it.
Project Plant Life 