I am the face of lung cancer:
Here I am, a few months before I became a lung cancer statistic, one of over 215,000 people in the US diagnosed annually with lung cancer.
I received my diagnosis in December of 2008, three days before my 53rd birthday.
What was originally thought to be stage 1 cancer was staged at IV, after surgery to remove the upper lobe in my right lung. 2 years later, I'm still in treatment, still fighting.
According to http://www.lungcancer.org/reading/about.php
“It is the second most diagnosed cancer in men and women (after prostate and breast, respectively), but it is the number one cause of death from cancer each year in both men and women.”
The most immediate question I face, when sharing my story is "Do you smoke?" I am a non-smoker.
Think about it: many of us know people who have smoked for 30 years or more, and THEY DON'T have lung cancer.
According to the Lung Cancer Alliance: Over 60% of new cases are never-smokers or former smokers, MANY of whom quit decades ago.
So, folks--let's get past the stigma, and make the battle against the #1 cancer killer as fashionable as the battle against breast cancer.
Lung cancer kills mommies, too.
when i mention that i know a beautiful woman fighting lung cancer, people always ask that question... i see more and more people with lung cancer that have never smoked! keep fighting linda! valerie
ReplyDeleteNo one should have to contend with stigma on top of already contending with illness, yet sadly some illnesses come with plenty of stigma attached to them. AIDS was one of those, but thankfully, that has changed dramatically. Lung cancer is another. Perhaps the worst are brain illnesses, particularly the more serious ones, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Thank you for all you do, Linda!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said, Linda. Thanks for being such a strong voice for lung cancer stigma-busting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the 60% statistic, Linda. I never knew that. You're my hero, in this regard, BTW.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I smoked for around 35 years Then I quit because I seen to many smokers have lung problems. I am now clean at 80years but live in a area where they don't want to stop(and save their money for a nice vacation instead. So I now have to get 2nd and 3nd hand smoke which is even worse then what had done.God Bless People that Love clean AIR. Just an old man
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