Our government spends millions a day in Iraq. A real estate mogul doesn't blink while investing in a new shopping mall. Political candidates raise millions at $500-a-plate luncheons.

And for what? Does all the "stuff" really matter?

I'll tell you what matters: Life.

Tony Bouie can tell you what matters.

Tony wants to see his two young daughters grow old. He wants to walk them down the aisle one day. He wants to cradle his grandkids in his arms.

But more than anything, he wants to beat the odds; beat this dreaded plague called cancer.

Tony could whip a blocker and smack a running back in his days at the University of Arizona and later as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These days, the 35-year-old CEO of a Phoenix-based company isn't sure if he'll live to see the Cats play another game in a stadium that bears his All-American name on the ring of honor.

These days, he sits in a sterile, freezing, treatment room at the Arizona Cancer Center with a drip in his arm, hoping and praying that he's the next medical miracle who beats the odds. He prays that one morning he'll open his eyes and this awful ordeal would have been a horrible nightmare.

By now you know the story. A couple months ago, Tony went for a checkup for life insurance (he has none). The blood work showed cancer. Doctors believe he may have a rare form of the disease that affects less than 1 percent of lymphoma patients.

We've all been touched by death and certainly cancer. The two, unfortunately, go hand in hand much too often.

Tony Bouie has faced the fact that he likely has months to live. Months! What would you do if you knew you might not see June!

Bouie, a devout Christian, has turned to warning anyone who will listen to get regular checkups. Go see the doctor whether or not you have time in your busy schedule. He can only imagine his prognosis if doctors had caught this earlier in a more treatable state.

UA fans know the awful wake that cancer leaves. Recent examples: Larry Smith and Bobbi Olson.

Football is the ultimate team game; a sport of amazing unselfishness. As expected of such a tight-knit group of Desert Swarm-era guys, Tony's former teammates at the UA have rallied in his support.

Former UA offensive lineman Eric Johnson helped establish a foundation to assist in medical costs and to help support Bouie's daughters: Natalie, 3, and Eboni, 1.

A golf tournament, to benefit the foundation, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club, 2400 E. Missouri Ave., in Phoenix. Registration begins at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. Dinner and a brief program will conclude the day. A silent auction of sports memorabilia donated by Bouie's teammates is also part of the day.

Entry fee is $300 per golfer, $500 for a tee box sponsor and one playing spot, $1,200 for a golfing foursome, and $1,500 for a foursome and tee box sponsorship. Make checks payable to "We Care/Tony Bouie" and send to Frankie Acosta, 9011 N. Yellow Moon Dr., Tucson AZ 85743.

For more information, contact Acosta at 520-621-9272 and frankie@arizona.edu or Johnson at 602-290-2304 and ejfuasu@yahoo.com.

Tony's wife, Allison, is maintaining a Web page that details Bouie's progress. Sign up at www.carepages.com, and enter "TonyBouie" when asked to enter a CarePage name.

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Tony Bouie Fund

We Care/Tony Bouie

3434 W. Anthem Way

Suite 118-493

Anthem, AZ. 85086

Tax ID No. 270068319