Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month is an annual designation observed in November. Sadly, my father succumbed to this horrible form of cancer in 2015.

The designation this month, and for that matter, any month, acts and helps spread the word about the dangers of pancreatic cancer. This is the time of year that most people speak up about this disease, and one of the main goals is to raise funds for early diagnosis research.

This week we once again celebrated Veterans Day. It originally celebrated the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. We have expanded that celebratory day to offer a day of thanks to all U.S. military personnel, active or retired.

 “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” – Abraham Lincoln

Voting matters. When voters don’t turn out to choose their local, county or state government representatives, they receive a government that doesn’t represent them. If you participate in the voting process, I can assure you that it will frequently ease your frustration over larger-than-life government issues. The more we all do our part and share our voices, the more we start to find others who share our viewpoints and are saying the same things.