This iReport is part of an assignment:
Lance Armstrong speaks out
Awareness vs. Athletic Failure
As I type this I can see my bracelet from just under my sleeve and every time I look at it my father's face comes to mind. My dad ultimately lost his battle with intestinal cancer 3 years ago but before he did he wore his bracelet proudly as a symbol of the fight. I wore mine to honor him and have never taken it off since and I never will unless it breaks. Even then, I would replace it. I wear and continue to wear my bracelet proudly. My father's bracelet sits in a glass sealed box on one of my shelves so I always have some small physical piece of my dad.
Regardless of Lance's admission, I still believe what he did to raise cancer awareness and funds for research outweigh the scandal. I fully agree he cheated in one of the ultimate tests of human endurance but does that outweigh his contribution to the world in general? Does that make all the awareness he raised a phony too? I don't think so.
Bike riding / doping vs. cancer awareness seems kind of trivial. He could have been the best ever without doping but we will never know. What we do know is that the Livestrong Foundation has helped countless people, brought a sense of strength to a dire situation and ultimately will continue to help and inspire people affected with this horrible disease.
If you are reading this and you lost someone to cancer after watching them wither away then you know where I am coming from on this. Why can't we strip away cancer from people as easy as Lance was stripped of his titles? Why can't we prioritize where efforts are truly needed?
Regardless of Lance's admission, I still believe what he did to raise cancer awareness and funds for research outweigh the scandal. I fully agree he cheated in one of the ultimate tests of human endurance but does that outweigh his contribution to the world in general? Does that make all the awareness he raised a phony too? I don't think so.
Bike riding / doping vs. cancer awareness seems kind of trivial. He could have been the best ever without doping but we will never know. What we do know is that the Livestrong Foundation has helped countless people, brought a sense of strength to a dire situation and ultimately will continue to help and inspire people affected with this horrible disease.
If you are reading this and you lost someone to cancer after watching them wither away then you know where I am coming from on this. Why can't we strip away cancer from people as easy as Lance was stripped of his titles? Why can't we prioritize where efforts are truly needed?
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