The feeling I got when I heard BYU basketball coach Dave Rose had pancreatic cancer was similar to the one I got 15 years ago when I learned my daughter had cancer. The same feeling I got this April when a doctor suspected another daughter had cancer. In the latter, tests proved negative.

It was the same feeling I got when one of my best friends got cancer. And my uncle. And two of my neighbors.

I felt sick and helpless.

My daughters survived; my friend, neighbors and uncle didn't.

None was the same cancer as Rose's, but all were the same enemy.

My initial thought when someone beats cancer has always been "Whew!" Then I go back to living my life. Or if he or she doesn't prevail, I go back to living my life, anyway, minus some of the joy. Yet despite a fairly extensive resume of cancer associations, I've only randomly donated to the American Cancer Society, which is only when I think of it. Now I'm thinking of it a lot more. This time I'm going to make a point. The amount may not put the ACS over the top in funding, but it will make me feel better.

Sympathy is good, donating is even better.

In that light, I have a plan almost everyone can afford: Skip some sporting expenditure you don't need this year and donate it to cancer research.

It's not like we need all the sports stuff we do.

I used to teach a college journalism class, and the textbook noted that in 1995, Americans spent $40.9 billion on fishing and hunting and another $5.9 billion on attending all professional sports. Both are more than National Cancer Institute's annual budget of about $4.8 billion. That's not enough. Otherwise, we would have eradicated the threat.

I figure if we skip one pay-per-view fight, we could make a donation. Or if we put off buying a new fishing pole, or use an old softball glove another year, we could give the money to research.

Beating cancer is daunting but not impossible.

All we need is to move it up the priority list.

Is space research as important as cancer research? For that matter, is independent film? A new model of running shoes? Over-the-top luxury stadiums? Taller skyscrapers, better teams and fancier cars?

Who would have thought a year ago we would spend billions of dollars we hadn't budgeted, in order to save car companies?

Maybe we should spend it on saving people.

If you're thinking the media are making a big deal out of this just because Rose is a well-known basketball coach, you're right — partially. It is indeed a big news story. But it's also a chance to bring up a crucial subject. A story on an unknown person fighting cancer is helpful, but a story on a nationally recognized figure gets national attention.