You understand the powerful emotions that surface when a cancer diagnosis is made. Not long ago, the words “you have cancer” meant a certain death sentence. We have come a long way over the past several decades, and today approximately 10.5 million Americans are living with and beyond a diagnosis of cancer. While that is a dramatic improvement, we still have a long way to go.

Today, thanks to dramatic improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, having cancer often means surviving cancer.

In 1978, a Kansas City man in his early 50s was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and was told he had three months to live.

For most people at that time, a cancer diagnosis was considered an automatic death sentence. But not to this gentleman. He was a fighter, and he refused to give up just because one doctor told him it was his only choice.

Seeking out a second opinion, the man found oncologists willing to put him on an aggressive treatment plan, and for two years, he battled his cancer until he emerged a survivor. He vowed he would devote his life to helping others win the fight against cancer, and so he did.

The gentleman was Richard Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, the tax preparation and financial planning organization.

Within two years of winning his personal battle, Bloch had sold his interest in the company he helped build and devoted himself full-time to cancer issues. One of his many endeavors was the creation of a national day of awareness to recognize and honor cancer survivors.

Today, we are light years from 1978 in terms of what we know about cancer, its diagnosis, its treatment and most importantly, its prevention. We have made – and continue to make – dramatic advances that save lives.

Every day, we are discovering breakthroughs in early detection, in new drug therapies, and in new techniques that fuse our burgeoning knowledge of genetic building blocks with methods to seek out and destroy cancerous cells.

These developments are the result of extensive laboratory research and detailed clinical trials that provide us with scientific data to extend our knowledge of what works, how it works, and how to make it work better.

Surviving cancer is a partnership of brave men and women – people like Richard Bloch and the millions of other Americans who are alive following a battle with cancer – and the researchers, scientists, pharmacologists, oncologists and other healthcare providers who continue to push the boundaries of our knowledge in the search for new weapons against cancer.

So, as we celebrate the unwavering spirit of those who have beaten cancer – and those who continue their brave fight – let us also recognize and honor the strength and spirit of those who lead us in this very important endeavor.