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Cancer survivors and other supporters gathered at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College for the largest grassroots mobilization campaign launched by the American Cancer Society against the disease.

The Fight Back Express bus rolled into town June 17 carrying the message that Americans have the power to fight cancer one signature at a time. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network sponsored a six-month, 48-state tour highlighting the crucial role elected officials play in making cancer a national priority.

Individuals signed the bus as a show of support for making cancer a top national priority along with a petition calling for access to quality health care for all Americans. Visitors had the opportunity to complete an electronic Picture A Cure form that included their photo and cancer story. The forms are then sent to elected officials to emphasize their role in the cancer fight.

Launched on May 4 in Cleveland, Ohio, the cross-country tour will roll on for more than 25,000 miles before landing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, Election Day.

"We're going to fill this bus with signatures," said Nancy Cheney, government relations director for the American Cancer Society, South Carolina Chapter. "When the bus rolls into Washington, we will have thousands upon thousands of signatures along with our petition for the new president to let him know that we want all of our citizens to have access to health care. If one person can battle cancer, a whole nation can rise up, fight it and defeat it."

"We're for getting all of the cancer funding that we can possibly get," Cheney said. "We know research must go on and continue, but the present budget has allowed cuts for the National Institutes of Health funding, which trickled down to the National Cancer Institute. We've come so close on so many cures. We just can't give up now."

Craig King is a third-grade teacher at Whittaker Elementary School in Orangeburg. He is also an eight-year survivor of a near-deadly bout of bone cancer. King spoke at the event about his cancer journey.

"Events like this put a face on what the American Cancer Society is trying to do with finding a cancer cure. We want our elected officials to know that we're serious about this," said King, who went through 11 months of chemotherapy and major surgery before entering South Carolina State University.

After getting involved with the ACS through his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., King started a Relay for Life team in 2002. Relay For Life is a entertainment-filled, overnight event designed to celebrate cancer survivors and raise money for research and programs for the American Cancer Society.

Cordova resident Linda Baldwin is also a survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and thyroid cancer.

"I am doing well. Every day that I can get up and stand up, God's given me a good day," she said, noting that Tuesday's event will help garner more attention in Washington. Baldwin is also a member of a Relay for Life team that raises money for Orangeburg County in support of the ACS.

"Orangeburg has done a magnificent job. We have raised now over a million dollars for Relay for Life," she said. "But, as a nation, we can do so much more. If our governing bodies and leaders will step up to the plate, we can find a cure."

St. Matthews resident Yvonne Whetstone is a breast cancer survivor and member of Celebrations, a support group for black breast cancer survivors at South Carolina State University. She said early detection is the best protection against cancer. The ACS reports that national priorities included increased funding for prevention and early detection programs that provide low-income, uninsured and underinsured Americans screenings that detect cancer at its most treatable stages.

"If a person is wondering what is going on, have it checked," Whetstone said. "At first, I just brushed it off, but every so often, I would have that pain. One of the ladies I worked with told me to go to the doctor and find out why. My doctor did X-rays and found" my cancer, she said.

Whetstone said Celebrations has been her support, adding that she and other members are like a family and let each other know when ACS and other activities are taking place so that they can attend.

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy partner of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. To learn more about the ACS CAN Fight Back Express, visit www.acscan.org.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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