Naked 5K Run for Charity?

R. Cameron Bryce, author of "Killing Tony, Excerpts from My Diary" is proposing a naked 5k run, in a city near you, to raise money to pay for the research and implementation of systems intended to prevent the third leading cause of death in this country, medical error, and to provide financial assistance to the hidden victims -- families that have lost breadwinners and caretakers to this 'disease'.  When a loved one is killed or incapacitated by medical error, the family, friends, loved ones and community are often the hidden victims. When the victim is a breadwinner in the family, or a caregiver, there can be severe consequences for the surviving family, often leaving them in financial turmoil that can create cascading negative consequences that will leave a lifetime of scars.

The second leading cause of death in America is Cancer --  a disease that gets lots of charity attention.  5K runs, fund raiser events, and tons of media exposure make donating to cancer research easy. (What actually happens to your donation is a subject for another article)  So why not raise funds for research and implementation of systems to prevent the third leading cause of death in this country -- and while we're at it, provide some financial assistance to those who have lost breadwinners and caretakers to medical harm.

This would most likely, although I'm not positive about this, be the first-of-its-kind naked 5K run charity event.  The run would be a statement unto itself. The spectacle of 5,000 runners clad only in their Nikes would be memorable.  It might prove to be the perfect counter response to the medical ignorance that is the cause of so much unnecessary suffering in this country.

Hundreds of thousands of people a year are killed by medical error, something that is slowly -- begrudgingly --  being acknowledged by members of Medicine, Inc., itself.  The effect on the hidden victims -- the families, loved ones, friends and community -- is incalculable.  The effect on families who lost caregivers and breadwinners to medical error can be devastating.

Why 'naked'?  The 'naked' component is more symbolic than physical; it's symbolic of how Americans are left completely exposed to the consequences of medical bungling, now happening so frequently that it is beginning to frighten even doctors themselves.  We are all 'naked', unprotected, unshielded and vulnerable to being injured or killed in this way -- even in the most innocent of circumstances.  The third leading cause of death in America.

As an aside, unlike the donations to cancer foundations which are siphoned off to nebulous destinations that pay nearly a million dollars a year to their CEOs, those taking part in and/or donating to help out with funding this third leading cause of death will most assuredly know exactly how their money was spent.

We would like to host a naked 5K fund raiser run in your city soon.   Let us know what you think.