[A New Chapter]

Oh no Tom, so sad to hear about your pain. Damn this disease causes so much suffering even when it is cured! I hope your doctors will find a regimen that works better for you. Is your O2 dipping low day and night? Is this due to mere passing of years or what is the explanation? I feel occasional shortness of breath and find O2 dipping to 90%ish on occasion during sleep (Apple Watch report) but doctor said it is normal for people to have that sometimes unless it happened often. Please take care and reduce risk of infections so you help your lungs. Keep us posted.

[6 years]

Such updates make me smile ear to ear. Congrats and here is to many more years of thriving!

[The Stigma]

I cannot believe these ladies were so heartless, in a cancer support group no less, what an atrocious thing to do!  

Casting blame on others gives many people a sense of power and superiority; I bet you they never blame themselves when they do something regrettable. My doctors asked me if I smoked but I believe that was part of the diagnosis process. They wanted to assess my risk and predict cancer sub type. Outside of healthy living recommendations, or smoking cessation therapy, there is no place for such discourse.

I am afraid the stigma is very real, and even as a never smoker, I learned pretty quickly that I should not volunteer my lung cancer diagnosis info unless I have to. Heck even having told people I merely have cancer caused them to promptly stop interacting with me (parents in my kid's new school). No empathy even from educators. What a world we live in.