I think what struck me most in the past two years, is that I have had many friends and family members afflicted by cancer.  This past year and a half have been especially hard for me and my husband, Jason.  We've had several friends pass away due to cancer.  All have affected us deeply, but only two will I note today. 

Byron, who's song is dedicated to families who have loved ones who have passed away, was especially tough.  Being 30 at the time, it didn't seem fair that someone that young should have to suffer from cancer.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, it's been very difficult for the both of us, Jason and I.  He suffered from colon cancer, which wasn't caught early enough, and spent the last two years of his life mostly in the hospital or sick at home.  The other, a friend of Jason's, who we knew was suffering from cancer, texted a message to him while we were in the studio.  Jason spent an hour trying to contact her, only to find out she had just slipped away moments after she sent her last text.  We were unable to attend her funeral, due to being in the studio.  It crushed us both, but it made making this album even that more important.

It doesn't matter which cancer, all cancer is bad, all cancer needs to be destroyed.  We need to find out what causes cancer, and stop it.  We need to find a way to stop the hurt and pain we all feel from this disease.  It's not fair.  It's not fair for a child to go through chemotherapy, and rob his or her childhood from the playground.  It's not fair for a woman to have her femininty robbed by a cancerous lump.  It's not fair for anyone to lose their constitution, faith, hope, or mind to cancer. 

Each medical advancement is one step closer to finding  a cure, it's one step closer to ending cancer's reach.  It's one step closer to saving thousands of people each year.  I wish it could be done just by patting doctors and scientists on the backs and saying, 'go get em'.  But it just isn't done that way.  This is why I'm donating 25% of each album sale to a cancer research organization.  One that has a great reputation for aggressively tackling cancer, and researches extensively all avenues to finding a cure.