World Cancer Day is marked on February 4, to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. The primary goal is to significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer.
World Cancer Day, organized by the Union for International Cancer Control, is an opportunity to highlight the wide range of action needed to effectively prevent, treat and control the many forms of cancer.
JFAC recongnizes World Cancer Day along with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, other law enforcement agencies, schools and communities.
We ask local schools and students who are willing to participate, to do the following:
- Make cancer ribbons of different colors representing various kinds of cancer
- Include the name of the school, student(s), or message if they wish on the ribbon
- Ribbons will be collected and displayed around the county
The ribbons are displayed in the Dane County Public Safety Building, community offices, police offices, cancer support organizations and businesses, etc. In addition, Dane County Sheriff, Dave Mahoney, has authorized the Sheriff’s staff to wear colored ribbons representing the cancer they want to recognize.
Each year we will hold an event in the Public Safety Building front lobby on 1st floor. The front lobby window will be decorated with a World Cancer Day banner with a list of DCSO staff who have lost their battle to cancer.
Sadly enough we added Deputy William “Bill” McGowan’s name to this banner. Deputy McGowan recently lost his battle to cancer in 2016. He won’t be there in person this year, but he will be there in our hearts.
Justice for a Cure’s mission work is getting the law enforcement family working together with the community to:
- Educate
- Bring Awareness
- Support Survivors
- Support the Fighters
- Support Local Cancer Programs
- Support Cancer Research to Find a Cure for ALL Cancer
- Honor the Taken
Joan was featured on Channel 3000 to speak more about this day of recognition.
To Check out the full interview click the photo below or click here.
Joan’s Interview Featured on Channel 3000
Remarks from Chief Deputy Jeff Hook from the DCSO
“Thank you for coming today. We come together on World Cancer Day to raise awareness of cancer and support prevention, detection, education and treatment. Our people each year put together this display behind us to spread the message on the effects of cancer and to encourage prevention, detection and treatment. You wilsl also look around our organization and see various ribbons that were made by local school districts of Cambridge Elementary, Peace Lutheran, Black Earth Elementary, Morrisonville Elementary, Windsor Elementary, West Middleton, Mt. Horeb Schools, St. Maria Goretti’s and Wisconsin Heights. It is so meaningful to have our young people join in the global education and awareness campaign since many of them have family or friends effected by cancer. Can you imagine being a young person and watching your Mom or Dad, Aunt or Uncle or Grandmother or Grandfather go through cancer?
Here in the Sheriff’s Office we are so proud of the work that Joan Kamholz began and many others have supported over the years through Justice for a Cure. Having watched Joan’s idea moved to action on her part, grew to involve a few others in the organization, grew County wide, statewide and now nationally is a powerful testament to the ability of people to come together and have such a positive influence on a cause. Their education, awareness and support efforts show the powerful ability of people to face the intense challenges of cancer through positive interactions with others facing similar circumstances.
None of us are immune from the risks of cancer. Here in the Sheriff’s Office we also experience the effects of cancer on our people. In the past ten years we have lost 9 of our family to cancer and cancer related illnesses. This past year we lost our good friend Bill McGowan which reminds us that we are talking about real people with families and friends that experience true loss due to this terrible disease. In the last ten years at least another 15 of our people have undergone treatment and are currently in remission.
Understand that our people are action people who are used to solving problems for others. But cancer humbles many of us because we can no longer tell people we don’t need help ourselves. We can no longer be the people showing up to help solve the problems of others. When cancer touches us we need the love and support of all those around us, and we have to let them care for us.
Have you ever noticed the brotherhood and sisterhood of those that have experienced cancer? It is a brotherhood or sisterhood that no one ever seeks, but once a member everyone is there to support others experiencing the same path. We all search for purpose, and sometimes fail to open our eyes to the evidence all around us, our purpose is each other and these folks have figured out, it is about supporting and loving each other.”
