Photo: (Kevin Mazur)
DNC! VMAs! SU2C! It's been quite the week for events. You might be wondering about SU2C aka Stand Up To Cancer. It was a national telethon that aired on major networks (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, etc.) last night to raise money for cancer research. Who was in the house for the star studded telethon? Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Olympic gold medalists Gabby Douglas and Missy Franklin and a ton of other stars. And it blew my mind and made me cry hysterically...in the live audience.
Why was I sobbing up a storm and pulling tissues out of my bag like no other? Like I explained to a guy on OKCupid, "It was so eye-opening and emotional." The stories told on stage of people, from babies to elders, who are fighting cancer, fighting to live another day, fighting to see their next birthday. Then there's the WTF statistics that celebs kept saying on air. Jessica Biel said that "Every 3 and 1/2 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer." WHUT? Here's another one: Everyday 1,500 Americans die from cancer. I still can't believe it.
The hour-long broadcast of Stand Up To Cancer is so worth watching. But in case you missed it, I got you. It was tough but I picked some moments from the telethon that really made me stand up straight in my seat and you guessed it -- widen my eyes until I burst into tears.
+Taylor Swift Debuts New Single, "Ronan"
Tay's performance of "Ronan" was the exact opposite of her colorful, super energetic rendition of "We Never Ever Getting Back Together," at the VMAs. Well, there was one thing both performances had in common: she was rocking red [insert pun about her upcoming album, Red.] "Ronan" was a stripped down performance. Just Taylor in a classy, Jackie O-like dress (AHEM) singing her heart out with tear inducing lyrics like "You were my best four years," and "Maybe the miracle was even getting one moment with you." You see "Ronan" is about Ronan Thompson, a 4-year-old boy who died of neuroblastoma last year. At the end of her performance, an image of a cute, blue-eyed boy appeared on the screen -- Ronan. Taylor is continuing to give back too. If you purchase "Ronan" on iTunes all proceeds will go to cancer-related charities so what are you waiting for?
+ Pray For Avalanna
Photo: (Matt Petit)
During the telethon, SU2C profiled two young kids battling profile. One of them is brave, feisty Avalanna Routh. The 6-year-old has been battling Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT), a rare and deadly brain tumor. The survival rate is around 10%. Avalanna has been fighting for pretty much her entire life (5 and 1/2 years). She is one of the bravest people ever. Within seconds of watching Avalanna, you feel her spirit and her curiosity in life. And WOW is she funny. She's a little girl who has the best one liners. Her mom Aileen Routh, asked Avalanna if she was scared of AT/RT and she said no but admitted she was scared of bugs. Avalanna is such a shining star that well, stars like Justin Bieber and Jessica Biel have given her support. Jessica launched a star in honor of Avalanna and the other JB met up with Avalanna on Valentine's Day. See the adorable evidence below:
BEST PART OF MY DAY twitter.com/justinbieber/s…
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 14, 2012
+Laura Zizkin FTW
Photo: (Getty)
I never heard of Laura Zizkin before Stand Up To Cancer but after the broadcast, I'll never forget her. Laura was the executive producer of the legendary film "Pretty Woman" and produced all the Spider Man movies in the last 10 years. She was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and in response to it decided she didn't just want to fight her cancer; she wanted to fight cancer for everyone. In 2008, she created Stand Up To Cancer along with other women like Katie Couric. Their main mission? According to the SU2C site, "to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. " I'm in.
During the broadcast Emma Stone mentioned a quote that Laura used to stay and it stuck with me. She said, "In my world, the hero always defeats the villain, the boy always gets the girl, and cancer is no more." Laura passed last year but let's keep her quote alive and keep fighting cancer until it no longer exists. To find out how to help, check out the action items below. And remember the power of standing up to cancer because we've all been affected by the disease -- we know someone who is fighting it right now or has fought it in the past.
