The past three years have been a time of considerable heartache.
Both of my parents were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They had none of the typical factors associated with it: They didn’t drink or smoke; they were healthy, active and had an excellent diet. They were in their 70s and lived/acted like they were a decade younger. But none of that mattered.
Since treatment options for this cancer are essentially
non-existent, I was encouraged when the B.C. Cancer Agency (BCCA), one
of the leading cancer research centres in Canada, became the first such
centre to establish an initiative to uncover the causes and cures of
pancreatic cancer.
They are currently attempting to raise $10 million to fund this research.
So you can imagine my frustration when the B.C. Cancer Foundation (BCCF), the fundraising arm of the BCCA, ended its funding relationship with Enbridge, the oil company that for the past three years has been the primary sponsor of the Ride to Conquer Cancer.
The annual bike ride occurs in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and Enbridge will continue to sponsor the event — except in B.C., where the BCCF has made a politically-correct decision that kowtows to a few noisy British Columbians who are more concerned that Enbridge wants to build an oil pipeline than they are about treating cancer.
The proposed pipeline would carry crude oil from Alberta to the B.C. Coast, where it would be shipped to the U.S. and Asia.
There is no indication that large numbers of bikers have shunned the event because of Enbridge, but several riders who made that choice have been featured prominently in the media.
The typical complaint is that it’s hypocritical to ride in an Enbridge-sponsored event to cure cancer because, according to one biker, Enbridge “causes a ridiculous amount of cancer.”
But this comment only reveals their own hypocrisy and lack of knowledge. (Google “oil causes cancer” and you get a nutrition debate about the health impact of fish oil.)
Yes, oil can be made into benzene and long-term exposure to this chemical can cause cancer. The biggest benzene threat to most is breathing in vapours while fuelling your car. You should also hold your breath around other generators of benzene like forest fires, volcanoes and cigarettes.
But benzene is also a necessity for making the plastic tubing, bags, vials and bandages (or any other plastic/rubber items around the hospital) that are germane to medical treatments. This includes the plastics that comprise the housing for medical equipment and thousands of monitors that guide patient care.
Crude oil is used to generate aspirin, antiseptics (like sterilizing alcohol) and sulfa drugs. It is used to make clothing — unless you are wearing pure wool, silk or cotton, chances are you are wearing a petroleum product. If you are wearing Lycra workout gear, then you are essentially clad in polyurethane which, of course, is a petroleum product.
Those snazzy bike shorts may keep you cool and dry, but they carry a pretty heavy ecological footprint, and I can guess that those vocal bikers who decry Enbridge are spandex-wearing hypocrites themselves.
Both of my parents were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They had none of the typical factors associated with it: They didn’t drink or smoke; they were healthy, active and had an excellent diet. They were in their 70s and lived/acted like they were a decade younger. But none of that mattered.
Since treatment options for this cancer are essentially
non-existent, I was encouraged when the B.C. Cancer Agency (BCCA), one
of the leading cancer research centres in Canada, became the first such
centre to establish an initiative to uncover the causes and cures of
pancreatic cancer.They are currently attempting to raise $10 million to fund this research.
So you can imagine my frustration when the B.C. Cancer Foundation (BCCF), the fundraising arm of the BCCA, ended its funding relationship with Enbridge, the oil company that for the past three years has been the primary sponsor of the Ride to Conquer Cancer.
The annual bike ride occurs in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and Enbridge will continue to sponsor the event — except in B.C., where the BCCF has made a politically-correct decision that kowtows to a few noisy British Columbians who are more concerned that Enbridge wants to build an oil pipeline than they are about treating cancer.
The proposed pipeline would carry crude oil from Alberta to the B.C. Coast, where it would be shipped to the U.S. and Asia.
There is no indication that large numbers of bikers have shunned the event because of Enbridge, but several riders who made that choice have been featured prominently in the media.
The typical complaint is that it’s hypocritical to ride in an Enbridge-sponsored event to cure cancer because, according to one biker, Enbridge “causes a ridiculous amount of cancer.”
But this comment only reveals their own hypocrisy and lack of knowledge. (Google “oil causes cancer” and you get a nutrition debate about the health impact of fish oil.)
Yes, oil can be made into benzene and long-term exposure to this chemical can cause cancer. The biggest benzene threat to most is breathing in vapours while fuelling your car. You should also hold your breath around other generators of benzene like forest fires, volcanoes and cigarettes.
But benzene is also a necessity for making the plastic tubing, bags, vials and bandages (or any other plastic/rubber items around the hospital) that are germane to medical treatments. This includes the plastics that comprise the housing for medical equipment and thousands of monitors that guide patient care.
Crude oil is used to generate aspirin, antiseptics (like sterilizing alcohol) and sulfa drugs. It is used to make clothing — unless you are wearing pure wool, silk or cotton, chances are you are wearing a petroleum product. If you are wearing Lycra workout gear, then you are essentially clad in polyurethane which, of course, is a petroleum product.
Those snazzy bike shorts may keep you cool and dry, but they carry a pretty heavy ecological footprint, and I can guess that those vocal bikers who decry Enbridge are spandex-wearing hypocrites themselves.
Finally, as we all know, oil runs the vast majority of cars (and ambulances) and planes that we utilize every day.
The bottom line is that oil is a necessary commodity for medicine and many of our modern conveniences. Countries like China need it to generate electricity that runs hospitals and medical equipment. If the international community doesn’t buy it from us, they will purchase it from nations in the Middle East or Russia, thereby providing financial support to mostly corrupt regimes that have no respect for human life, let alone human rights.
It would be great to live in a utopian world where man has no need to utilize the natural resources that surround us. But while we work toward developing and utilizing cleaner forms of energy, we can’t be so naive as to deny our current, critical need for oil products to sustain medical care and life in general.
B.C.’s cancer patients should share no pride in the BCCF’s decision to put politics ahead of funding medical care.
Perhaps the only thing more illogical than the belief that one is too morally superior to raise money for cancer because the event is sponsored by an oil company is the idea that a cancer fundraising group would refuse desperately needed financial support for cancer victims by caving to their hypocritical demands.
Susan Martinuk is a freelance columnist. Her column runs weekly.
The bottom line is that oil is a necessary commodity for medicine and many of our modern conveniences. Countries like China need it to generate electricity that runs hospitals and medical equipment. If the international community doesn’t buy it from us, they will purchase it from nations in the Middle East or Russia, thereby providing financial support to mostly corrupt regimes that have no respect for human life, let alone human rights.
It would be great to live in a utopian world where man has no need to utilize the natural resources that surround us. But while we work toward developing and utilizing cleaner forms of energy, we can’t be so naive as to deny our current, critical need for oil products to sustain medical care and life in general.
B.C.’s cancer patients should share no pride in the BCCF’s decision to put politics ahead of funding medical care.
Perhaps the only thing more illogical than the belief that one is too morally superior to raise money for cancer because the event is sponsored by an oil company is the idea that a cancer fundraising group would refuse desperately needed financial support for cancer victims by caving to their hypocritical demands.
Susan Martinuk is a freelance columnist. Her column runs weekly.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/Martinuk+cancer+funding/8850656/story.html
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