A Modern Day Hero
27 June 2010
A Modern Day Hero
When you think about heroes, you normally think of military, police, and firemen. They are all truly heroes. They posses all the heroic qualities that we associate with being a hero. But there are other heroes among us. You and I see them every day of our lives; they are our doctors, school teachers, humanitarians, and athletes. And one of those heroes, I think is Lance Armstrong. So to me Lance Armstrong has a lot of heroic qualities, for instances Courage, loyalty, and kindness. Everyone has the opportunity to be a hero. In the following paragraphs are the reasons why Lance Armstrong is a hero. In October 2, 1996 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. This also spread to his lungs, and his brain. (Fitch, 161) He decided “to forego the traditional treatment for brain tumors, which is radiation” (Encyclopedia of World Biography), because of the side effects that he could get from the radiation. He was given almost no chance of recovery. Lance Armstrong battled back against the cancer, and five months later, in February 1997, he was declared cancer free.
That same year he formed the “Lance Armstrong Foundation”, to help cancer survivors. In the pasted twelve years since the start of the foundation it has raised “more than three hundred and ten million dollars” (Szabo, 8B) for educating people, for advocacy, Public health, and cancer research. The Lance Armstrong Foundation has “given money to more than five hundred and fifth organizations for research and support to people affected by cancer.”(Friedall, 2C) By using Twitter Lance Armstrong stays in close contact with survivors of cancer. He inspires everyone who has cancer, who had cancer, and everyone who knows or knew someone who has or had cancer. He checks messages whenever he can get a chance to, “which hundreds pour in daily” (Szabo, 8B) Lance Armstrong also spends a lot of his time sending personalized messages to people. “It’s like a family; Armstrong
A Modern Day Hero
When you think about heroes, you normally think of military, police, and firemen. They are all truly heroes. They posses all the heroic qualities that we associate with being a hero. But there are other heroes among us. You and I see them every day of our lives; they are our doctors, school teachers, humanitarians, and athletes. And one of those heroes, I think is Lance Armstrong. So to me Lance Armstrong has a lot of heroic qualities, for instances Courage, loyalty, and kindness. Everyone has the opportunity to be a hero. In the following paragraphs are the reasons why Lance Armstrong is a hero. In October 2, 1996 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. This also spread to his lungs, and his brain. (Fitch, 161) He decided “to forego the traditional treatment for brain tumors, which is radiation” (Encyclopedia of World Biography), because of the side effects that he could get from the radiation. He was given almost no chance of recovery. Lance Armstrong battled back against the cancer, and five months later, in February 1997, he was declared cancer free.
That same year he formed the “Lance Armstrong Foundation”, to help cancer survivors. In the pasted twelve years since the start of the foundation it has raised “more than three hundred and ten million dollars” (Szabo, 8B) for educating people, for advocacy, Public health, and cancer research. The Lance Armstrong Foundation has “given money to more than five hundred and fifth organizations for research and support to people affected by cancer.”(Friedall, 2C) By using Twitter Lance Armstrong stays in close contact with survivors of cancer. He inspires everyone who has cancer, who had cancer, and everyone who knows or knew someone who has or had cancer. He checks messages whenever he can get a chance to, “which hundreds pour in daily” (Szabo, 8B) Lance Armstrong also spends a lot of his time sending personalized messages to people. “It’s like a family; Armstrong
Cited: Fitch, Katherine,(2001,January) “It’s Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.” School Library Journal, 47(1) 161 Friedell, Dan “Armstrong takes aim at cancer in Return”, USA Today, September 25, 2008, Final edition, Pg. 2C "Lance Armstrong Biography " Encyclopedia of World Biography Web 19 June 2010. http://www.notablebiographies.com Szabo, Liz “Armstrong’s ultimate kick; Cycling champ embraces technology to end cancer stigma across Globe” USA Today, August 24, 2009 First edition, pg. 8B Katherine Fitch. (2001, January). It 's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. School Library Journal, 47(1), 161. Retrieved June 27, 2010, from Research Library.