It occurs to me that I didn't write anything for World Cancer Day on Tuesday. The main reason, I guess, is that I don't think cancer deserves its own day. I think it deserves a swift kick in the a$$.
Of course I get that WCD isn't for the disease itself, but for patients, their caregivers, and survivors, all of whom deserve a great deal of attention for their ordeal, their strength. And here I am saying 'they' when I really should be saying 'we'. I'm not yet a year out from my treatment, and I'd be lying if I said that any of it has sunk in. It still doesn't feel real.
What is very real now, though, is the commitment I've made to avoid things that increase my risk. That's why I'm all over yesterday's news from CVS Caremark that as of October 1, the retailer will soon no longer sell tobacco products. It's a gutsy move, one that the company says will cost $2 billion annually.
The decision has already been a PR boon. President Obama lauded the company and the news, and then the American Cancer Society's chief medical officer called it "an act of corporate courage." How often does a for-profit company hear a statement like that??
The time is long overdue for companies to make decisions that impact their customers has much as their bottom lines. For sure, this move by CVS is part of a larger repositioning strategy; the company leaves its retail pharmacy competitors behind as it moves into the healthcare market. But consumers stand to only benefit from CVS' trend-setting decision. How will Walgreens respond? What will retailers like Target and Walmart do?
If only every World Cancer Day happens like this, with big decisions about real change that will keep us healthier.
Yours,
Jazzy
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