11-2-16

Dear Future President,

     Have you ever had a family member struggle through cancer, or even die of it? Cancer is a really big problem in our country and it's only getting worse. I know doctors and scientists are working their hardest to find cures for cancer, but we need to work harder because too many people are dying and too many families are devastated.

     You might know some of the common cancers like breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, and leukemia, but did you know that there is over 100 more cancers? Although more and more people are helping with cancer research, more and more people are dying. In 2015, 589,430 people died of cancer in the U.S. and in 2016, the amount of cancers deaths increased by about 6,000. I don't think that our country is putting enough money into cancer research. We need to find a cure for cancer and we need to find it quick or cancer will start taking over our country.

     When someone is first diagnosed with cancer they go to their local hospital and get tests and treatments, but when the cancer they have gets worse, and their local hospital can't do anything, they send the patient to a different hospital. That is the problem. Switching patients from hospital to hospital only makes them worse. Their body begins to give up and gets sicker and sometimes even sick with another disease. I think that we should have more hospitals JUST for cancer patients. Cancer patients need all the help, treatments, and attention they can get. When someone is diagnosed with cancer they automatically think death. When you get cancer it doesn't always mean you are going to die, though that statement might become true if our country doesn't take cancer seriously. It doesn't have to be this way, though. I know that if our country works together we can end cancer.

     Since 1990, about five million people have died of cancer in the U.S. Did you ever think about their families? For each cancer death there is a sad family. That means since 1990, five million families have lost a loved one to cancer. I am one of those families. In February 2016, my aunt got diagnosed with cancer. She died shortly in May, and that is honestly one of the saddest things that has ever happened to my family. It's even harder knowing that there was nothing left the doctors could do. That happens all the time. Some people die of cancer because the doctor cannot do anything else. That should not happen. People of all ages are being affected by cancer and I think that they all need to know that the doctor did everything that they could and tried so many ways to help them get better.

     I think that we could save more lives if we put more money into cancer, because with that money there is so much more we can do. I also think if we have more hospitals dedicated to just cancer patients then there is a better chance of them getting better. With more attention, treatments, and care we could help cancer patients more.

     In conclusion, we need to do more to put an end to cancer. I believe that one day there will be no more cancer awareness because we will have put an end to cancer.

Sincerely,

Gia S