My first wife died from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma ... which, as its name implies is a cancer of the lymphatic system ... brought about, her consultant oncologist believed, by nearly a quarter of a century of steroid [and other] painkilling drugs treatment for severe inflamatory Rheumatoid Arthritis.
At her funeral, one of her closest friends ... and chief bridesmaid at our wedding 24 years earlier ... handed me a cheque (in lieu of flowers) to be donated to whichever charity I saw fit.
Now, whilst many folk might have expected me to select Cancer Research, I decided the beneficiary should be the Arthritis Council. My reason for choosing the latter, was due to the fact that, because one in every three of the British population are believed to be at risk of being diagnosed with (albeit, do not necessaily DIE from) the 'BIG-C' at some time in their lives, the charity is almost indelibly at the forefront of people's minds, and is invariably well-supported ... whereas, arthritis research receives a lot less publicity - on account of its being generally considered as one of the non-fatal diseases - and hence funding tends to be minimal by comparison. Yet, arthritis ... in all its insidious forms ... is an extremely painful and debilitating chronic illness that - more likely than not - leaves sufferers' joints badly misshapen and deformed and, in consequence, with varying degrees of disability.
So, folks ... next time you see someone "rattling a can" for ARC (or whatever it's called nowadays) ... and it isn't all that often, unfortunately ... please be generous with your loose change!
Originally Posted by Arthur Little
