“Our individual battles should also be national ones. “With Congress about to decide how much money to include for medical research as part of the economic stimulus package, the time has come to take my personal fight to a larger stage. My message to our senators and representatives is simple: Vote for the maximum funding to let the National Institutes of Health fight cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. It’s not only good for our nation’s health; it’s also good for our economic well-being.

“When I was growing up in Texas, my family had a simple response for challenges like this: ‘Stop talking about it, and do something about it,’” he continues. “That’s how I feel about finding more money for cancer research. My hope is that some day, the words ‘a cure’ won’t be followed by the words ‘is impossible.’”

The star concludes his lengthy letter with, “So here’s my plea to Congress: Stand up to cancer. Stand up for people fighting serious disease. Stand up and help restore America’s economy. Stand up and help build a prosperous and healthy future for our people by giving the NIH $10 billion for research. Stand up to create jobs, fight illness and deliver hope.”

To read the full letter, please click here. We wish Swayze the best as he battles this disease and stand by his call for action.

Patrick Swayze shocked critics this week when he was spotted smoking on breaks from his new television series, The Beast. Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early April, and after doing remarkably well with treatment, it looks like he’s back on the pack. BAD NEWS!

Julianne Moore recently spoke to Parade magazine about quitting smoking 15 years ago and how it not only helped her health, but her career too. Julianne says: “The time when I began to see the most clearly was after I turned 30. I was 31 or 32, and I quit smoking. I was so emotional. I mean, everybody is emotional when they quit smoking. But I had been so unhappy, and I realised that I had just been – I don’t know – literally stuffing it back with those cigarettes in my mouth. I felt like I woke up suddenly.”

Now I’m generally not one of those pretentious non-smokers who make ugly faces when someone lights up, but these smoking celebs aren’t just hurting themselves, they’re hurting the environment too. Besides the fact that you release over 4000 chemicals into the air each time you light up, it’s estimated that there are over 2 billion cigarette butts disposed of each day and it takes an average of 25 years for each of them to decompose. So boooo on that!

To read more about how cigarettes are basically the anti-green, visit AboutMyPlanet.com!