Lance Armstrong — unashamed about cancer

Lance Armstrong, courtesy Wikipedia.

It's impossible to talk about athletes who are superstars in the world of charitable organizations without thinking of cyclist Lance Armstrong.

That's in large part because his connection to the focus of his charity is more personal than many athletes.

Armstrong, whose Lance Armstrong Foundation is devoted to recovery from cancer, post-cancer quality of life, cancer awareness, research funding and more, is himself a cancer survivor. And, testicular cancer is both fairly rare, and a type of cancer about which it could be easy to be embarrassed.


But, he wasn't.


He was open about his type of cancer and his treatment. It's that type of openness that, per Wikipedia, accounts for its success.

 The foundation has become one of the top 10 groups funding cancer research in the U.S., raising more than $325 million from the sale of yellow Livestrong bracelets.

That, in turn, allows for the breadth of the foundation's work.

Programs include an anti-stigma campaign, various programs for support of youth recovering from cancer, fertility support, and a survivor empowerment initiative.

There's other good stuff there, too.

For example, two research programs funded by the foundation look at specific issues of cancer treatment, survival, and post-survival recovery life faced by African-Americans and Native Americans.

The foundation is very open about its funding and disbursements, too. As a top cancer charity, it is committed to the openness that seems to typify Armstrong otherwise.

And, as a cyclist in an individual sport and now semi-retired, Armstrong is easily able to take the message of his foundation around the country.