Leading the Fight Against Cancer in Delaware

Last night, the boys and I attended a celebration at the Riverfront for my friend and former law partner Bill Bowser, who was being presented with an award from the National Governors Association for his work in fighting cancer incidence and mortality in Delaware. Bill would be the first to tell you that we have a long, long way to go in the fight against cancer in Delaware, but since being appointed chair of the Governor's cancer task force when it was created in 2001, Bill has been a leader on a variety of fronts, from improved screening for colorectal cancer to helping 'navigate' new cancer patients through the maze of services they encounter, to some issues that I have been directly involved in such as cancer care for the uninsured and trying to track environmental causes of cancer.

The event was not just nice for honoring Bill, but it was also a chance for me to catch up with some of my colleagues on the cancer task force and with a lot of my former law firm colleagues. Unfortunately I did not get much of a chance to talk to them, as Michele had to work last night and the boys therefore needed to accompany me. Goaded on by Delaware Superior Court Judge Jan Jurden, the boys decided to remove several hundred paper napkins from the dessert table, rip them into shreds, toss them into the air, and dance wildly among the napkin shrapnel as it floated down. I would have stopped them, but it did keep them quiet during the program--it was kind of like an '80s music video with the sound turned off. This also allowed me an opportunity to crawl around on the floor scooping up paper so that the Riverfront staff wouldn't have to do it. Just another day in the life of a would-be Lieutenant Governor.