Monday, Sept. 26, is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. People from all over the country and from many different walks of life will come together today to spread the word about this vicious form of cancer.
As many as 3,000 Americans are typically diagnosed with mesothelioma in any given year. As a result, for most people, mesothelioma is a less recognizable disease than breast cancer or prostate cancer.
But just because the name mesothelioma fails to sound familiar to a lot of people, this cancer still deserve a lot of attention.
It’s so terrible a cancer that it should be at the forefront of the nation’s thinking.
Participate in an Event to Generate Mesothelioma Awareness & Funding
There are many ways to spread the word about mesothelioma on Sept. 26. For instance, you might think about participating in a fundraising event to benefit mesothelioma research efforts in your area or nationally.
Fundraiser events come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are designed to raise visibility for a nonprofit organization or a cause. These might generate no money at all, but would still be considered successful if they attract media and public attention.
Usually, though, fundraisers aim to do both — generate attention to the cause and money for its advancement.
One such fundraiser you can participate in is the iWalk4MESO Virtual Race. It’s sponsored by Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. and encourages you to spread awareness about mesothelioma and raise money for research currently being done.
There’s a video you can watch on the iWalk4MESO website.
It encourages you to walk or run any distance at all, take a picture with the iWalk4MESO sign and post it to your own Facebook and the iWalk4MESO Facebook group using these hashtags: #iWalk4MESO, #MesotheliomaAwarenessDay and #EndMeso. Weitz & Luxenberg will make a donation for every post received. Then tag your friends and donate to the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center of Massachusetts General Hospital.
Another event is the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s #ENDMeso Twitter educational chat starting at noon Eastern Time. During that session, you can engage in a dialogue of 140 characters at a time with mesothelioma patients, doctors, researchers, advocates and others about the cancer.
Still More Mesothelioma Awareness Builders
Another way to build awareness is by wearing blue on Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Blue is the official color of the ribbons worn by those who wish to show support for mesothelioma patients.
Also consider reaching out to the editors or writers of your local newspapers, radio talk shows and television newscasts to encourage them to do stories about mesothelioma.
Of course, the most important thing you can do on Mesothelioma Awareness Day is simply to tell a friend or coworker about mesothelioma.
Tell them how mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, how devastating it is to the people who develop mesothelioma, and how damaging it is to the loved ones of those who are stricken by it.
You’ll be doing great work just by spreading the word.
