Tell Off Cancer With One Click

Before marking our one year anniversary next month, FCancer is turning September into "F-tember," launching a month-long campaign during which you can help raise awareness through your social networks.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

F*ck cancer! Go ahead, say it out loud. Whether or not cancer has affected your life, it can't be ignored. Last year, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I emblazoned the words "F*ck Cancer" on a T-shirt as a private source of strength for her. Being the firecracker she is, mom wore it everywhere!

Soon after, I founded FCancer as a nonprofit and charity to raise awareness about the importance of early detection, and the statement grew into an international movement. While many wonderful organizations have raised money for cancer research, FC's mission is to activate Generation Y to engage with their parents about early detection of cancer, and encourage them to stay on top of their regular cancer screenings. Over 90% of all cancers are curable if found in stage one. Early detection really is the best cure for cancer right now.

FCancer has found support with Gen Y, and their parents. They are embracing new online tools to kickstart frank and open conversations about their health. Interestingly, it is children nagging their parents (and not the other way around) that is driving this campaign, as parents are more likely to listen to their children over anyone else in their lives, including friends, partners, and healthcare professionals. Gen Y has the ability to encourage and educate their elders, and, in the process, educate themselves about how to look for cancer before they're in the highest risk demographic. My mom was lucky to have found her cancer early, but there are too many comments and stories on our website that tell of not-so-happy endings. Because of this, it's really important to me that I do all I can to teach people how to look for cancer instead of just find it.

2010-09-14-huffpo1.egg_894c4.png

There's no time like the present to start the life-saving dialogue around early detection. Before marking our one year anniversary next month, FCancer is turning September into "F-tember," launching a month-long campaign during which you can help raise awareness through your social networks.

Through the Facebook App, generously donated by the interactive agency Invoke, you can donate your Facebook or Twitter status by sharing one (or several!) of the attention-grabbing cancer facts and detection tips shared each day of this month. The great thing about this app is that is actually achieves one of the movement's goals -- to teach people about the earliest warning signs of cancer. Even if your friends and family skim past the posts in their newsfeed, they can't help but absorb some of the message! The app makes it as easy as possible to educate and raise awareness about early detection. It's time to speak up and say F*ck Cancer!

You can help make F-tember a success by donating your status today - or any day this month - at http://www.facebook.com/letsfcancer

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot