Chicago Bears

Oh, Bears. You know I love you. I've loved you since we moved suburban Chicago in 1985, when I was 12. That was a magical time - the Superbowl shuffle, the Fridge, the Funky QB, Ditka and the Superfans skit from Saturday Night Live. But perhaps one of the best parts of the Bears then was Sweetness, Walter Payton.

He was an excellent player, perhaps one of the Bears' best ever, and he was a true gentleman. I've loved you ever since, and there have been ups and downs, but I am still a proud Bears backer. As a type 1 diabetic I am really proud of Jay Cutler, the current quarterback who also has type diabetes. It's great to have a high visibility person advocating for your disease and raising money as well as putting your illness on other people's radar screens.

Unfortunately for cancer, the person directly affected doesn't always have the energy or live long enough to advocate. I lived in the Chicago area when Walter Payton publically announced that he had primary sclerosing cholangitis and he needed a liver transplant. Then he announced that he had cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and deadly cancer. As the Bears History site linked to above says, "Suddenly the lines that Walter used earlier in his career, such as 'Never Die Easy', and 'Tomorrow is promised to no one', struck close to home." Unfortunately, he died only a few months later.

Given this history and Payton's long and successful career with the Bears, you are in a unique position to advocate for more research into cholagiocarcinoma, and to raise awareness about this cancer. But instead, this Fall, you sell shirts and don pink for breast cancer awareness. I was flabbergasted. Even my friends who work in breast cancer agree that this is getting to be too much - the whole world turns pink during October every year, and it really feels unfair to those who treat other cancers, and who have lost loved ones to other cancers. Use your unique position to honor Walter's legacy.

Sincerely,

Noelle LoConte, MD