So I had the opportunity to do what the kids in the Hershey program do, except that the Hershey program lets them do it on such a larger scale, with the regional and national competitions.

I make appearance at local park and recreation agencies when the program starts, when they have the qualifying meets at the local levels. Then I try to go to the regional competitions, and of course I'm there in Hershey, Pa., in August for the North American final.

It's very warm there, so we were outdoors all the time. The local people had programs for us year-round, where as kids we had the opportunity to play football, basketball, baseball, track and field - we just went from one sport to the next, year-round.

The main thing is that it's nice to see these young people - 9 to 14 years old - take the opportunity to get more involved in their health and fitness. We need more kids to be more active.

In 2003, I had testicular cancer, and I didn't tell anyone about it - maybe five people. I had a fairly significant surgery. I was weak, slumped over. I told people at work I'd been in an accident.

One of the things I'm proud of at Planned Parenthood is the number of health centers providing trans care, which was largely driven by young activists.

Many badly needed goals, like fusion and cancer cure, would be achieved much sooner if we invested more.

I feel like I've paid a really heavy cost, a really heavy physical health cost, for the years of touring and how physical I've been onstage.