I hate to do this again. I don’t want to be *that* girl and I should really stop typing.

But there’s only one celebrity I care enough to berate. One celebrity that has so much potential with so many fans, but who I feel is half-assing his way through a campaign.

And so again, to Mr. Lance Armstrong, I’d say:

You’ve launched an entire campaign to help cancer survivors fight. Your manifesto is well thought-out, but it’s also well hidden.

You say “Live Strong” and every person who has NOT had cancer clings to your words. They are looking for a way to identify with the person they are caring for. But your message, no matter how well-intended, is diluted. It’s misunderstood.

Your words are for them, not us. And to them, your words make us look bad if we're sick and showing it.

But I have news for you, it’s not important to be strong...it's just enough to survive.

I know nothing about combat, but from what I hear it's similar. I still wake up in a sweat having nightmares of being in that hospital. I still can hear that poor man gasping for air because his lungs fill-up with fluid every five minutes. I can still feel the incompetent night staff taking my blood every two hours. I’ll forever remember the biting edge of chemo injections. And good lord, if anyone ever mentions the words 'tap water enema' to me again, I'll promptly jump off the nearest rooftop!

But just as vets come back from war, it doesn't matter if they were a hero or if they managed not to cry while serving, it only matters that they survive.

You may feel this way too, but somewhere, at least in my corner of Northeast Florida, your message got lost in translation.

You are NOT a normal person. Too many people look up to you. Too many people including doctors, nurses, hospital aides, and janitors know your name.

Did you really sit in a room with hundreds of other skeletons while watching poison drip slowly into your body? Did you carry on conversations face-to-face with frail individuals breathing their last breath? Were you trapped in an ill-run institution with worn-thin nurses too busy to offer you a clean garment, much less ensure proper dosage of medication? Did you fight your medical insurance company hourly for permission for scans that would allow the doctors to see if your treatments (that were killing you) were actually helping you? Did you worry about how you would pay your bills? Did you return to a grueling pre-diagnosis work schedule while also trying to carve out time for treatment, blood tests and follow-ups?

Maybe I’m way off base. You may have suffered through your cancer battle with the same grievances as the average Joe. Maybe I’m reading too much into your beloved slogan, it really could be an satirical play on your name.

Regardless, since you proclaim yourself as “one of the toughest cancer survivors on the planet”, I expect more. I expect you to carry your message as strongly as you fought for your life. I expect you to deliver your beliefs and ensure they’re interpreted correctly. Anything less from you is half-hearted and detrimental to the cancer patients you want to empower.

(hmm, I feel a lengthy run coming on...)