Tuesday, 10 November 2009

• Be Aware of Lung Cancer Awareness Month

  
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  Did you know that lung cancer kills more people every year than ALL other cancers combined?

  And yet you never hear about it, because it's largely considered a "smoker's disease," and that they "did it to themselves." While it may still be true that most lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking cigarettes, there's a few important things to remember:

  1. Even if those that die are smokers, they deserve our empathy because no one wants to die- especially from their addiction.
     I lost my mom to lung cancer, and she was only 56 years old. Yes, she was a smoker. And yes, her unhealthy choice cost her everything- but she didn't want to die. The damage had been done and was too late. By the time those diagnosed with lung cancer truly realize their mistake in smoking cigarettes, its too late. We must do everything we can to educate people on the dangers of inhaling poison into their bodies so that they can make the right decision and not smoke. Right before my mom died, she turned to me and said she was sorry. I knew what she meant, and I wish I could go back in time and help her quit.
  2. The cases that are not smoking related are growing at an alarming rate.
     Now everyone, even those that don't smoke, have a chance at getting this deadly form of cancer. You can blame asbestos, second-hand smoke and other factors, but nothing is more of a carcinogen than the polluted cities we live in and breathe the air from. Everyday our cities get more crowded and there's more pollutants in the air that we breathe in, and they are doing us considerable damage. So its not just a smoker's disease anymore.
  3. Lung cancer is just as preventable as breast cancer and other types of cancer.
     First and most important thing you can do to prevent lung cancer? Don't smoke. It may not be just a smoker's disease anymore, but most of the cases are still cigarette related (87% of lung cancer cases come from those who have smoked or are considered smokers). Second most important thing you can do- as a smoker and non-smoker- is to get a complete health screening!!! Every year on her birthday, my mom got a physical. And every year, her doctor gave her a clean bill of health, regardless of the fact that he knew she smoked cigarettes. If even one year, he had given her a chest x-ray, she might have caught her cancer early, and she'd be here today. Even if you have quit smoking, the damage you did in the years you inhaled cigarette smoke may already have been done. Turns out approximately 50% of lung cancer occurs in people who have already quit. So just as you would give yourself a breast exam, or go for a colonoscopy, please ask your doctor for a chest x-ray. It's worth what you might find.

  Lung cancer is one of the deadliest form of cancers, almost 84% of those diagnosed die within 5 years, and again, you almost never hear about it. To witness the discrepancy consider the research funding for lung cancer- $1,415 per death, breast cancer- $13,991 per death, and colon cancer- $4,952 per death. I'm not saying those other cancers aren't terrible and those deaths are considerable losses, I'm just trying to bring attention to a topic everyone keeps avoiding.

  I refuse to sugar-coat it for anyone after watching my mom die. I'm a former smoker myself, and I can tell you it's not hard to quit. And once you see someone suffer for their "choice" to smoke, you start to open up the dialogue and not care if people don't want to hear it. So it starts with me.
  
  There aren't white ribbons on cars, NFL games and shirts for lung cancer the way pink ribbons abound. No one walks for 3 days to bring awareness to the cause. And when a celebrity dies of lung cancer, it's more of an "oh, that's what happened" response rather than the incredible mourning if one dies from another type of cancer (example: look at the sadness revolving around Patrick Swayze's pancreatic cancer death compared to Paul Newman, a former smoker's, lung cancer death). WE MUST SPREAD THE WORD. Lung cancer can no longer be a silent killer, allowing millions of us to mourn in it's destructive wake.

  You are the answer. We can prevent this. We can stop lung cancer. And maybe just one more girl will be able to grow up with her mom around because we stopped hiding and started talking.

  Do you know anyone who has or had lung cancer? Were you aware that November was Lung Cancer Awareness Month?

  For more information on lung cancer, visit the Lung Cancer Alliance page (here).

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