Ladies and gentlemen….the future is near…We are very excited with the progress that has been made…as we head to the future: let me just point out to all of you…what the price has been…
Notice the reserved table over here………
Who is this table reserved for? And how does one get a “place at this table? It looks so pretty…all shiny and pristine..so.. who is there…
WELL…Candy’s Mom has a place at the table ….so does Wendy’s mom
And Konrad’s mom
Susan Zimmerman has a place at the table
Toby Fox at age34 has a place at the table
And Todd English, his sister has a place at the table
Yes, many people we have known have had a place at that table… that represents all of our family, our friends and loved ones whose lives were cut short, at whatever age, by having a “place at the table” from which there is no return
But, I need to tell you……that this is not an honor..a place at this table..
I do not want to have that honor; and I don’t want anyone else to have that honor given to them…
We are working so hard so that the table will go away..
This year, 40,000 women and men will lose their lives to breast cancer; in Mass alone, 900 will. That table is already so large and so filled with non-survivors of breast cancer…..if I multiply the number of 40,000 per year by any number of years…the outcome is just too staggering to look at…
But…lets not talk in terms of lives lost. We remember and cherish those we’ve lost…Let us honor our friends and make a strong commitment to solve the problem…
We are working on it. Lately. there seems to be discussion about a change in the death rate, …because of earlier detection, new and better treatments, and the huge number of women who have, in the last three years, stopped taking hormone replacement therapy…. There seems to be a change in the death rate….
But the statistics are still the truth…243,000 will be diagnosed in the next year; thank means the diagnosis rate is continuing to climb 200,000 is to many; 225,000; too many…this year.. 243,000 too many…
Art beCAUSE is about solutions; our funding at Boston University has already helped in some potential discoveries and early publishing of findings… this, in a new study is quite unique..so we are very encouraged.
But, do we want not breast cancer to become a chronic disease….I would certainly prefer that our kids, grandkids, and loved ones don’t deal with a chronic disease…Preventation is the word…
Art beCAUSE is committed to funding research looking at the environmental causes of breast cancer..that is, as you have heard, somewhat like looking for a needle in a haystack…it could be anywhere;
It is now obvious that there is a connection between the environment and us….our bodies, our community; and what we eat, breathe and take into our bodies, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Is it possible to find the answers; we just heard Dr.Sherr say that there is a solution..but the search is very expensive…And, until we find the causes, we haven’t prevented breast cancer and the places at the table will continue to fill up…
Will you help us??
At Art beCAUSE, we have just the one goal..to raise money to fund research…we keep our overhead simple, and we give away the raised funds in a direct line to basic scientific research….
Basic biology…just following the road…keeping our eye on the solution; and closing down the call for “places at the table.”
Please feel comfortable giving us, on your pledge cards, whatever will help us to continue funding: Research is going on all over the world; we were able this year to have several applicants looking for our help; and although we have a small amount to give , our aspirations and goals are to give away a lot more in grants…that desire is immense…
Let’s close down that table..Dismantle the napkins, the chairs, the centerpiece…the chairs…and work toward preventation….
Can we fund another grant or two tonight…they…the scientists.. are lined and waiting for $$$$...and they rely on private foundations like Art beCAUSE for help…
Can we help in this fight to eradicate breast cancer…will you help me do that??
In front of each of you is a pledge card…as you know, we take all credit cards, checks, cash….whatever currency you have …..wouldn’t it be amazing to fund two more projects just tonight…
Thanks so much to all of you for your devotion to Art beCAUSE and to the eradication of breast cancer…..