The Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon is an hour full of inspiring stories, celebrities speaking from the heart (and speaking to donators on the phone), and heartfelt performances, and it’s all for a good cause — to raise money for cancer research and, hopefully, and an eventual cure. The show outlines all of the specific efforts that the money raised goes towards, but there was one little problem for me — some of the medical terms made my head spin. If I don’t know what they meant, surely other people didn’t, and would that make them less likely to donate? Luckily, Stand Up 2 Cancer had the stars of the show explain common cancer terms, and it was so helpful for those not in the medical or scientific fields.
Immunotherapy? T-cells? New chemotherapy treatments? All of these and more were explained, and it was really interesting, especially for a geek like me who failed science but still likes the idea of how science works. A different star — like Charlie Wilson or Eric Stonestreet, for example — explained a new treatment, ways that cancer attacks the body, and more, and getting the background on these issues really helped me understand just what people go through when they have cancer and also what kind of strides scientists around the country are making thanks to the money donated to Stand Up 2 Cancer.
Stand Up 2 Cancer may not cure cancer right away, but it’s definitely helping by leaps and bounds to find treatments that will save thousands — or millions, eventually — of lives. It was really inspiring to see all of the work that’s been done, but there’s still so much to do. Running through the cancer “terms” and what they all mean was helpful because when people understand something, they’re more likely to assist in solving the problem. Sorry, cancer, it seems like your days are growing shorter.
