Ingrid Michaelson stands up to cancer

As Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) is gearing up for their second fundraising telethon, you may have caught glimpses of celebrity promotions for the September 10th show. The live fundraising event first aired in 2008, educating viewers about cancer and raising more than $100 million for research. More than 100 celebrities were involved with the first SU2C show, an initiative that has grown into a thriving online community that features a magazine SUTV, and ways for individuals to "stand up to cancer" every day. I recently ran across the music video for "Be Ok" by Ingrid Michaelson, a song I listen to all the time and never connected to cancer. Apparently neither did Michaelson when she first wrote it. But when she was approached to be a part of the 2008 show and created this video, it was suddenly very apparent how the words spoke to the cancer experience. "The idea of the video is sort of how no matter how alone you feel you have this support system, you have this network...surrounding you all the time," Michaelson says in the "Behind the Scences" video. Having SU2C as a backdrop, the song goes beyond simple matters of the heart and looks at how after getting a cancer diagnosis, most people just want to know today that maybe they'll be okay. And with the strong support system, they can be. You can download Michaelson's song, "Be Ok," at www.aimestreet.com, where 100 percent of the proceeds go to SU2C. For more information about the SU2C telethon, visit their website, or read editor-at-large Kathy LaTour's story about executive producer Laura Ziskin.