Cancer and the people it leaves behind. courtesy of buhoazul @Flikr

In my little world, cancer was something that happened to other people. Not until I had my personal encounter with melanoma, did I really know what it meant to suffer from skin cancer. The same went for breast cancer – it seemed foreign – until a friend, the mother of two young children was hit by it. Most recently it was lymphoma and leukemia I had to learn about because my best friend’s life was shredded to bits by it. Truth is, I’d rather not have to know every type of cancer because a loved one develops it.

Now I am acutely aware of every single campaign that deals with cancer. Now I really understand that it’s a coin toss and that it could happen to anyone. It’s no longer like a foreign language to me. Billboards, radio ads, TV commercials, Facebook pages are constantly raising awareness and money for researching some type of cancer, in the hopes of finding a cure and ways to prevent it.

In a world in which we are constantly bombarded with information, my eyes and ears are now tuned in to cancer awareness.

My best friend, my rock, was ripped away from me by cancer only a couple of weeks ago. Now his loved ones, namely his 12-year old son and his wife are left behind, to deal not only with the intense and bone-crushing pain of loss, but also swimming in a sea of insurmountable debt accrued over the years due to astronomical medical bills to treat … cancer.

Now, I too need help in raising funds, not for a cure, but to help the family of a friend who once saved my life and who is gone too soon. I never thought I’d have to ask for such a thing for a friend. But here I am, rooting for my friend’s son, a 12-year old orphan who has a lot to offer, and his young mother.

Love for Tommy Fund was created to help Jesse his son, and Mai his wife to face what the cancer treatment left behind, hefty bills that a lifetime of work may not cover.

If anything you’ve ever read on my blog has ever inspired you, I urge you to pay it forward by donating to my friend Tom’s LoveForTommy Fundly. Or maybe you’ve lost a loved one to cancer. Anything is something. $50, $25, $10, even $1. The power is in the numbers. This is for Jesse, 12 years old and his mom, Mai. And for my friend Tom, rest in peace, who is hopefully watching his friends and family pay back to his son what he once gave to them.

Cancer sucks, not only because of whom it takes, but for those who are left behind.

Thank you for reading this, and if you cannot make a donation, prayers are welcome too.

Jesse, his son, his best friend.