Running for Cancer, While the Causes Keep Growing
Every year, many people put on matching T-shirts and run for cancer. They take photos. Film stars come. Doctors give speeches. Schools tell children to join. Police and officers stand nearby. It looks kind. It looks useful. But a hard question is almost never asked: if so many people care, why do we run around the problem instead of running at the things that help cause it? Cancer is not only bad luck. The World Health Organization says tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, lack of exercise, and dirty air all raise the risk. The same agency’s cancer group, IARC, has also said outdoor air pollution and the tiny dust in it can cause lung cancer. Arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer of the lung, skin, and bladder. Asbestos can cause a deadly cancer of the lining of the lungs. Some workplace chemicals, diesel smoke, and old farm poisons belong on that list too. So the soil, water, and air are not a side story. They are part of the story. What people run for — and what they do not A chari...
