Friday, March 4, 2011

Now That is Something to Blog About!

Today I went to a Walmart Super Center in Florida.  Outside and to the right of the entrance, a group had a table set up next to a cooker or grill.  They were raising money.  Now I generally avoid making donations at makeshift sites such as this.  Legitimacy seems suspect.  Today was no different, but as I drove past the little table and saw the fixings I also saw two signs.  It looked like one sign (the size of a regular sheet of paper - 8.5 x 11) said something about a place where people who have cancer can go for respite care or just care in general.  Another sign, taped to a pole on the other side of the table said something about Colon Cancer risks and age.  It may have been something about people over age 50 needing to be screened for Colon Cancer.

Now - those of you who have read about colon cancer here or elsewhere, will get the "you must be kidding" moment as soon as I write the words - the rest of you will have to read my explanation and check on the link - 

As I was driving past the table absorbing all of these things, I saw mustard and ketchup and thought - oh my - oh no - seriously?   Are they selling HOT DOGS to raise money to prevent colon cancer????

I parked my car and went over to the table and YES - Hot Dogs.  Probably the only thing that will surprise my family and friends is that I did not tell the people that red and processed meats were in fact considered a lifestyle risk factor for colon cancer.

This is why fund raisers such as this lack legitimacy in my eyes.  Also - and here is the part where it is my blog so I can be opinionated and unprofessional (to a point) -
As I was driving out of the parking lot I noticed several several people putting the fixings on their purchased dogs and they looked like just the people who needed to eat a few less hotdogs....

Risk factors for colon and other cancers (and diseases) are generally listed as those you can change and those you cannot - what you eat is a changeable one  - certainly what you SELL people is another... 

I consider the American Cancer Society to be a good source of information.  You can read about colon cancer on their website - half or three quarters down the page you will see the words hot dogs :) 

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