I have a dream...

MLK on August 28, 1963

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech in Washington, DC in which he spelled out his dreams for racial equality for our nation. That speech moved so many people to realize that we had a lot of work to do to move from where we were at that time, to a place where we could stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity.

Well... I have a dream today. It is 2010 and we have accomplished a lot in our time on this rock. But we have so far to go. I have a dream that one day soon, the words "you have cancer" will not be heard by anyone. I have a dream that the nightmares of chemotherapy and mastectomies will be relegated to the "old days". I have a dream that one day a woman will not be faced with the choice between saving her life and saving her fertility.

Yes, those are my dreams tonight. I dream that the causes of breast cancer will be found and that instead of teaching women to be prepared for it just in case... we can say with no equivocation that if you do this or don't do that you will never get breast cancer. I have a dream that one day our wonderful government will get on the good foot and  take a stand against all of the environmental toxins in our food and our cosmetics and our lives in general... and say enough. I have that dream.

I know that this world is not perfect and that many times we will go through things because it is our turn to deal with something... but I'm dreaming right now that while I had to make hard choices and put my trust in the hands of my medical team... my daughter and her daughter and her daughter's daughter will not. That they will read my story and realize that they are so blessed to not have to face this monster.

I have a dream that all of the millions of women and men who are living survivors of breast cancer... that all of my pink ribbon brothers and sisters... will rise up and say NO MORE. We want a cure and we want it now. I have a dream that a sea of pink will cover this earth and with it bring on the dawn of a new day where we are told the absolute truth about breast cancer and all cancers. That we won't fear backlash from our employers or our insurance providers because we were unlucky in the cancer lottery. I dare to dream that one day I won't have a job talking and writing about breast cancer because it won't be a part of our lives.

But until the day that my dreams come true... I plan to keep talking, to keep writing, to keep praying and most of all to keep believing that some day, one day... all of these tears will be worth it. I pray that my brothers and sisters who have lost their lives to breast cancer will continue to be angels for those of us still fighting this monster. And I pray and I dream... that one day I will open my eyes and never shed another tear because of breast cancer.

Dream with me.