Cancer sucks – there are no two ways about it. Having it affect you or a loved one has got to be one of the most challenging things a human can endure. At first, I didn’t think this impacted me personally. I was just an outsider looking in. So, when I initially embarked on writing about Lung Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I would hop on my soapbox and give you my anti-smoking pitch. (I am fiercely against smoking.)
Then, I mulled over the idea of exploring how lung cancer screenings are becoming more prominent, shedding some hope on such a scary disease. I also thought about discussing the meaning behind the white/clear ribbon that represents this awareness month. (Lung cancer shows very few symptoms early on, so it’s referred to as the invisible cancer, hence the color clear.)
A just-the-facts idea popped into my head. In fact, here was my opener:
- Lung cancer takes more lives than the next four deadliest cancers (colorectal, pancreatic, breast, and prostate) combined*
- Only 18 percent of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive five years or more. BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance for five-year survival improves dramatically*
But then I thought of my paternal grandfather who passed away before I was born. Lung cancer spread to his spine and became inoperable. I never got to meet the man that I had heard so much about growing up.
I thought I didn’t have a direct story about lung cancer because I didn’t know him. Then, I realized not knowing him was directly related to lung cancer. This horrible disease denied me the opportunity to know and love my grandpa. It denied me years of memories never made. Suddenly, this became incredibly personal. I have missed out on knowing an amazing man who was responsible for building my wonderful family. Someone who, I understand, would have loved to have met me and would have been extremely proud of all that my cousins and I have accomplished in our lives.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month now signifies absence – absence of profound symptoms, absence of color in the ribbon that represents the month, absence of my grandfather who wasn’t able to be present in my life.
My goal now will be to create a world absent of lung cancer. Lung Cancer Alliance’s Shine a Light Campaign works to host educational events in hospitals around the country to bring together those living with lung cancer and their families, as well as the healthcare teams at the hospitals.
Learn about an event near you and Shine a Light on lung cancer. Shine it bright so there can never be absence again.
*SOURCE: LUNGevity Foundation
