Get Involved with Jackson Rathbone's Cause

Jackson Rathbone of Twilight Fame (he plays the “youngest” vegetarian vamp, Jasper) is no stranger to being a celebrity. Rathbone has played in numerous television shows, from the O.C. to The Cleaner to Criminal Minds. He’s had an active film career as well, starring in movies such as River’s End, Hurt and S. Darko.  He also sings in the band 100 Monkeys.

Rothbone, 24,has also decided to use his fame for good. With his fellow 100 Monekys members, he likes to help out with the Spencer Bell Legacy Project, a charity dedicated to the memory of their friend, fellow musician Spencer Bell, who died of Cancer in 2006.

“Our friend was an amazing poet, artist, musician and lyricist, and we’re putting out an album of his. I can’t tell you how many letters we get in our fan mail for the band that say how much Spencer has touched their lives and how they had family members pass away from cancer,” says Rathbone in an interview with MTV.

The album they were working on, called Live & Wasted, is being sold to help fund cancer research. The organization is also selling tie dye awareness bracelets. Other CDs are also available for purchase at the site, as well as t-shirts and signed posters.

Fans are warned that some lyrics are explicit and may not be appropriate for all listeners; they recommend that people over 18 buy the music.

The site also has videos and photos, and features many of Bell’s works, including art, poetry and music. You can listen to the site playlist, read up on the blog and make a donation to the University of Michigan’s Adrenal Cancer Program in Bell’s name.

As the site is an Ning social network, you can also search other Spencer Bell Legacy Project members and become one yourself.

Bell, who had adrenal cancer, died just eleven days after discovering that he had the disease. By the time his symptoms began, it was too late to operate.

Adrenal cancer starts in the adrenal glands. While rare, is one of the most deadly cancers today. 300 to 400 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year; worldwide, the occurrence is in 1 in 1 million people. And since diagnosis is usually very late—as with Bell’s case—treatments remain ineffective for the cancer.

While most patients are under five years of age or in their 40s or 50s, Bell was only twenty.