Cooking to Combat Cancer - An Event

April is Cancer Control Month. Both Clinton & Bush, during their terms in office, proclaimed Cancer Control Month’s purpose as to continue to increase public awareness on the fight against cancer.

Cancer survival rates are increasing, with approximately 10 million survivors in the United States. New understanding of diseases, better diagnostic tools, and
innovative treatments help provide hope and healing to those who have been diagnosed with cancer. Across our country, cancer patients are living longer and fuller lives...Despite these advances, cancer is still the second leading cause of death in our country.

I don’t know many people who have not been touched by cancer in some way – directly or indirectly. When I lost my grandmother to pancreatic cancer in November 1993, my world was shattered, for this horrible disease razed our family foundation.

Even so, I continued to smoke my 1-1 ½ packs of menthols a day. The thought never entered my mind that I would be diagnosed with some form of the disease. While I am five years out and considered cancer-free, I know how lucky I was in my detection, my surgeons, and my recovery. Nonetheless, when April 29th rolls around each year, I always remember being by myself when the doctor told me, sitting in my car thereafter, and wondering how the hell I was going to tell my mom. So, anytime something develops that supports the fight for a cure, I am all about it.

Which…brings me to an event I am deciding to launch. One way we can help reduce the risk of developing the disease is by making healthy lifestyle choices. Since this is a food blog, I am going with…eating well. There are many foods out there that can help our bodies fight the illness. And with those foods come recipes….so bring it on!

I will start this event off with a meatloaf recipe.

Here is what you need to know:

Recipes need to include something that will help the body fight cancer. Basically? Healthy recipes . If you're not sure - Mayo Clinic Recipes is a great place for healthy recipes. It doesn’t matter what course you choose – I will (try my best to) categorize them. You must post your cancer combating culinary creation, with a link back to this posting, no later than Monday, April 9, 2007. After you post, please send an email to me - melecotte (at) gmail (dot) com - with the following information:

• your name
• your location
• the name of your blog
• the name of your recipe
• a permalink to your post
• a picture (if you'd like)

The roundup will be posted by or before April 13th. Happy & healthy cooking!