The White House is "Pink"... What about LUNG CANCER?

The White House is “Pink” this month, but what will they do for Lung Cancer Awareness in November? NOTHING I’M SURE. Do people even know that November is Lung Cancer awareness month? Unfortunately, I doubt it. Sad. Pathetic. Hurtful. Shameful. Stigmatized. Unrecognized. Underfunded. Unimportant to Most. Why? Because everyone thinks that in order to get Lung Cancer you have to smoke, and because you smoke you somehow deserve lung cancer. NO ONE deserves cancer of any kind. Not all smokers get lung cancer and not all lung cancer patients are smokers. Actually 80% of the newly diagnosed are NEVER smokers or former smokers who quit decades ago. ALL cancers deserve the same recognition and awareness that breast cancer gets. We as a society do a disservice to the general public by hyping up breast cancer as much as we do and ignoring all of the other cancers that effect EVERYONE, specifically lung cancer. I’ve said it before but I am going to say it again. Lung Cancer is the NUMBER ONE cancer killer of MEN AND WOMEN in this nation. It kills more people than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined. It is the least funded of all major cancers and the stagnant 15.5% survival rate has remained unchanged for 40 years. 160,000 people will pass away from lung cancer this year alone in the US. For those of you who don’t know there is one person who is doing everything humanly possible to raise awareness for this disease. Kelcey Harrison is running across the UNITED STATES. Who can say they have done that? I would be surprised if anyone can say they have accomplished that task. 30-40 miles a day for 18 weeks straight….. What more could a person do to bring awareness to this horrible horrible cancer?!?!??!! There is NOTHING more she could do. She is giving EVERYTHING possible. So, why hasn’t the national news media picked up this story? Who knows? Is it because of the stigma? Is it because it’s not the “pretty pink cancer”? Is it because Lung Cancer Doesn’t matter to most people? I mean, the girl is RUNNING ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. Why isn’t the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Ellen, Oprah, Brian Williams, Rock Center begging her to be on their telecast? STIGMA. PERIOD. That’s right folks, we have stigmatized this disease for so long that we have made everyone think that ONLY smokers get lung cancer and that they deserve it and therefore, Lung Cancer isn’t important. Lung Cancer happens to people from all walks of life, Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Children, Siblings, Sorority Sisters, Division I College Athletes, NEVER SMOKERS, NFL Wives, Famous Singers and Actors, the list goes on and on. From the great words of Katie Couric “It’s time to put the blame game aside, and figure out what is really going on”. Please join me in trying to bring much needed awareness to Lung Cancer and brining publicity to the one person who can say they have given everything humanly possible to raise awareness for this dreaded disease by following @thegreatlungrun on twitter. Or by visiting her website or fundraising page at www.thegreatlungrun.com www.Crowdrise.com/thegreatlungrun

Comments

  1. Joe GaetaOctober 2, 2012 at 12:54 PM

    AMEN! GREAT POST!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2013 at 5:09 PM

    IKR? September is childhood cancer awareness month but no one knows that either >:(

    ReplyDelete
  3. WhitneyFebruary 18, 2013 at 10:34 AM

    This post really hits home for me. I've gotten to the point where it makes me angry to see Pink (which happens to be my favorite color). Yes, tons of women are diagnosed with breast cancer, but it's no longer a death sentence! I happen to have Lyme disease and there is NO funding, no research, and not even insurance coverage for my treatment so I've got a pretty big chip on my shoulder. Also, February is National Heart Disease Awareness Month. My grandmother and father both died from heart disease and I'm genetically predisposed to acquire the disease myself. Heart disease kills more women than all the leading cancers combined, yet all we see is PINK PINK PINK! My maternal grandmother passed away from lung cancer so I angry about that too. It's like BC is the glamorous disease. I am sick, I don't want to be, but I am. If I had to choose between LYme and anything else I would choose BC. I wouldn't be alone, I would have support from family and friends, I wouldn't be turned away by doctors, and there wouldn't be that stigma. I'm so sorry you have to go through this :( On a different note, I see you have been granted a WUAW! Congratulations! I've been literally begging the organization for a year to let me help in some way but they never respond. I have so much wedding information and no where to use it. Since I'm disabled I'm home all day everyday and have become what I like to call a "Wedding Aficianado". I would love to talk to you about anything wedding related or anything in general! I live in the Chapel Hill area. If you would like to talk please send me a message. I would be delighted!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownDecember 4, 2013 at 4:18 AM

    Hi, yes the ignorence is quite evident in developing countries like India where most of the are diagnosed with cancer after years of suffering.

    One of the best cancer hospital in India yashoda hospital and cancer research institute in hyderabad, india is playing a very important role on creating awareness and workshop on breast cancer.

    One of the best cancer institute in India with world class infrastructure and oncologist experts

    ReplyDelete
  5. sweety rupaNovember 19, 2019 at 1:32 AM

    Thanks for the post Best hospital in kukatpally

    ReplyDelete

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