I have spent the majority of the past 60 minutes in tears.

ABC, CBS and NBC simultaneously broadcast one commercial-free hourlong telethon (for lack of a better word) to benefit Stand Up To Cancer. According to the organization's Web site, this is its mission:

Working with the top experts in cancer research, Stand Up To Cancer is forging a new way to develop breakthroughs that will end cancer. We’re putting together the best and the brightest minds in cancer research – those on the edge of accomplishment – investing in their projects and taking the bureaucratic obstacles out of their way. We are building interdisciplinary “Dream Teams” of scientists, clinicians, technicians and other experts who will focus on a specific cancer problem. We’ll track their progress in real time, so that everyone who invests can see how their participation is creating real change.

Funds will be administered by the American Association for Cancer Research, the largest scientific organization in the world focusing on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research. Together with their scientific Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee, comprising world-class scientists across several disciplines and patient advocates, the most promising projects will be identified.

This is huge. In the U.S., one person dies of cancer every minute. If we could work to cure cancer, the 1,500 Americans who die of it each day could live full lives.

I lost one grandmother to cancer; my other was a cancer survivor. I have had classmates, co-workers and friends affected by cancer. It does not discriminate; everyone is at risk.

It's time to stand up to cancer. Together, we can beat it.