You may have heard that the Susan G. Komen Foundation has withdrawn its funding for cancer screenings for women who visit the Planned Parenthood clinics. This action has left a gaping hole in the medical assistance provided to poor and disadvantaged women who will otherwise go undiagnosed as having breast cancer.

Science fiction author John Scalzi has stepped forward to help address this very serious social issue. He is donating his share of the proceeds from all of his ebooks published by Subterranean Press which are sold between Feb 2-8, 2012. Here’s the blurb from John Scalzi’s website:

So, between today and February 8, 2012, every time you buy a Subterranean Press eBook written by me here in the United States, the proceeds are going to Planned Parenthood. I will direct that the donation go specifically toward their breast cancer screening and educational activities, to help replace the funding lost from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. What ebooks does this cover? Here’s a list on Kindle; here’s another on the Nook. eBooks sold in other formats for other readers here in the US will be covered, too.

Poor women, many of whom have children who depend on them, are having their lives put at risk because of this action. Twenty-six years ago my mother was one of those women who were too poor to afford healthcare. She worked a minimum of two jobs (one as a liscenced vocational nurse and whatever else she could get) to put food on our table, pay the rent, buy gas for the car, purchase clothing for me and my sister, and pay the utilities when possible.

By the time I was ten, my mom had spent a year knowing there was a lump in her breast and knowing that there was no way she could afford to have it treated. Eventually, she changed jobs and was able to get healthcare, but by then the cancer had spread. Surgery was required and her breast was removed. A few years later, her other breast was removed. Then a few more years passed and more lymph nodes had to come out. Twenty-six years passed full of cancer treatment drugs and their various side-effects, but in the end her breast cancer has spread into her bones, chest and brain. Every day during those last few years, she would say that she was going to feel better tomorrow. Tomorrow never came.

When she first discovered her lump, if there were a facility like Planned Parenthood that could have helped her immediately, she might have had a much different life. She might still be a nurse, working in a northern California convalescent hospital and caring for the elderly. She may not have had to retire early, she may not have lost her house,  and she might still be alive.

There are many ways to support good causes like cancer screenings conducted by Planned Parenthood, but buying a book written by John Scalzi will make your contribution both fun and rewarding. Be sure to make your purchase by February 8, 2012.

Thank you and happy reading!