LiveStrong

I'm not a Lance Armstrong apologist.  It seems that he has enough apologizing to do on his own and doesn't really need anybody's help.  However, I like to ride my bike. In fact, I've ridden a lot of miles.   I even ride a Trek bike, like the one Lance rode in his first Tour de France victory in 1999 (but I didn't buy it because of him - it was the cheapest carbon bike I could find).  I rode my bike in LiveStrong fundraising events in 2010 and 2011. I had cancer, my wife HAD cancer, my brother had cancer, my sister-in-law had cancer.   I've read a lot of books about Lance because he had cancer and he likes to ride bikes also.  For some reason that I can't quite explain I have an intricate and tangled psychological/emotional connection with Lance Armstrong.  Understanding that connection would probably take many hours and involve a leather couch and some people with PhD and/or MD after their names.  But I'm not a Lance Armstrong apologist.

There is an important distinction that needs to be made between Lance Armstrong's athletic activities, his self-acknowledged flaws, and the LiveStrong Foundation that he founded.  Perhaps because I've read quite a few books about Lance I wasn't surprised by anything he said in the infamous interview with Oprah.  For a number of years I've also been able to compartmentalize my feelings about Lance as a competitor, a human being, and a cancer fighter.  Oprah and Lance came to the conclusion that he is a bully - or maybe more appropriately - exhibits bullying behaviors.  There are very few times that bullying is an acceptable behavior.  Bike racers don't need to be bullied.  Reporters don't need to be bullied.  Friends don't need to be bullied.  But, cancer does need a bully and Lance is that bully.

The disease needs to be pushed around and shown who's boss.  Unfortunately, sometimes hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies need that, too.  We have been very fortunate that in Cathy's experience with cancer, as well my own, we have encountered excellent doctors, competent hospitals, and sufficient insurance.  Our experience is not always the norm.  That is where LiveStrong comes in.  

LiveStrong is not out to find a cure for cancer.  LiveStrong's aim is not to raise money to fund research.  LiveStrong works to support people who are struggling with the disease.  This includes those who are fighting cancer and the people who care for them.  LiveStrong's mission is to assist people in accessing the resources they need to win the fight.  Each cancer patient's journey is different and requires access to varying resources, which might include competent doctors, insurance claims, treatment plans, clinical trials, alternative therapies, financial assistance, understanding patients' rights, etc.

Cathy and I remarked to one another on numerous occasions that we could not imagine going through this disease without our network of insurance, doctors, family, neighbors, work flexibility, and above average intelligence.  The sheer amount of information that is necessary to digest is daunting.  The number of choices that need to be made, often on a short time schedule, can cause extreme stress and anxiety.  When you factor in the emotions that go along with a cancer diagnosis, it's easy to make life altering mistakes.  LiveStrong works to help make all of this more manageable.  

LiveStrong offers a number of free services, but the one that I find most universal is the Guidebook and Planner/Journal.  I say that it's universal because it works pretty well in helping someone with any type of cancer organize and process the mountains of information that are part of the fight.  LiveStrong will ship a free Guidebook and Planner/Journal to anyone who requests it.

The Guidebook provides all kinds of information that helps patients and caregivers plan the fight and make decisions necessary to win the fight.  The Guidebook contains a lot of "well, I never thought of that" information and scenarios, as well as some great starting points for deeper research into the billions of facets of dealing with the disease.

The Planner/Journal is organized in the same format as the Guidebook, but it provides questions to ask doctors, spaces to write answers, forms to track treatments, folders to place important information, and charts to note progress.  

These resources are indescribably helpful.  Every cancer patient needs these books to understand the decisions that lie ahead and organize the battle plan.  In addition to these books, LiveStrong provides face-to-face services to assist in the same manner.  It is my belief that when Lance had cancer he refused to be a victim of the disease.  He also refused to be a victim of the treatment.  Many cancer treatments are vicious and costly on many fronts.  An informed and organized battle plan can maximize the damage to cancer and minimize the damage to the patient.  In a nutshell, this has been Lance's mission with LiveStrong.

I hope that the people who have supported LiveStrong in the past will continue to support the organization.  I also hope that the businesses that have contributed to the mission will see that their money has provided more that the almighty "return on investment".  Personally, I have supported businesses that have supported LiveStrong because I know that the real ROI is lives lived.  Over the past 11 years I have been able to separate Lance Armstrong, the cyclist/doper/cheater/bully/liar from Lance Armstrong, the founder of an organization that has improved the lives of millions.  I hope others are able to do the same because LiveStrong is important regardless of the transgressions of its founder.