Better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness

My friends, there's an awful lot of awful going around these days. Personally, I see-saw between terrified anger and cynical numbness, and frankly, I'm done. I don't want to isolate myself from the gift that is the internet because there are terrible things happening. I don't want to miss important milestones in my friends' lives because I'm afraid of finding out about another horrifying thing in the world. I miss cat pictures, dammit, and I'm sick of hiding from social media for fear of learning how another part of the sky is falling.

I'm going to say something that may be controversial, but hear me out. It's not all bad. Yes, there's a lot of bad going around, and it's really hard to live through it, especially when it directly impacts you or the ones you love. There are a lot of us that may be struggling to survive in this climate, but there's something we need to remember - what we're struggling to survive for.

Hence, my challenge to myself: I pledge to spend every day of this month of October posting at least one good thing that is happening in the world. Big or little, worldwide or local, animal, vegetable, or mineral, there is good news out there, and I intend to find it and bring it to you.

It's really easy to be cynical right now, and believe all the light in the world is gone. It isn't, and I'm going to shine a bit of it every day to remind myself - and you - that we're not just fighting against something. We're fighting for something, too.

For today, let's talk about the newly-announced Nobel prize winners in Physiology or Medicine, Drs. James P. Allison (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center) and Tasuku Honjo (Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study). Both men worked separately on the same potential solution to a problem that's been plaguing mankind for eons - cancer. They each found ways to take the body's own immune system and take the brakes off, essentially allowing the immune system to fight harder against cancer cells. Dr. Allison began his work in the 1990s and discovered the first set of "brakes," while Dr. Tasuku discovered a second set that allowed the therapy to work more broadly. It's not a complete cure, but it significantly improves patients' survival, particularly combined with other treatments.

Dudes. We are close to curing freakin' CANCER. I want to see that happen - don't you?

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Wanna Hear Me Talk?

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