Hope not dope

This morning, I read a moving status update from someone I know and respect. She’s battling cancer and had a particularly bad day yesterday. And as anyone who has had the disease can tell you, a bad day with cancer can be one of the worst days of your life.

Then I thought about Lance Armstrong. Yesterday, he had a bad day, too. Nike pulled its sponsorship because of the USADA’s case against him.  Armstrong, the soon-to-be dethroned seven-time Tour de France champion,  then promptly resigned as the Chairman of Livestrong, the charity he founded after his bout with testicular cancer.  I thought of all the hope he brought to so many other cancer patients. How his story shined a ray of hope on so many cancer patients.

That ray has a black cloud of doubt over it today.

Did Armstrong dope? Nike seems to think so.  USADA is fanatical about it. And while he denies it, the court of public opinion is turning against him.  Did Armstrong beat cancer and create a way to provide hope for so many others? Without a doubt.

I don’t know if Lance Armstrong cheated in cycling  (which is to purity in sports as a whorehouse is to chastity.) I’ll admit, it sure looks like he did. What I do know is that he definitely cheated cancer. And with that in mind, I hope the fallen cyclist can rebuild his life. It’s possible. He has done it before.

Why am I so forgiving? Because people like my friend need all the hope they can get.  And cancer needs every opponent lined up against it.  If a flawed messenger has a powerful message against the disease, I’ll take it.

I’m not quite ready to cut up my yellow Livestrong arm band. Because to me, it’s about the hope not the dope.