Lauriannessister

I receieved an email that after a seven year battle with lung cancer, Nancy Michener has died from the disease. She passed away shortly at 7:30 on June 16, 2006 surrounded by her family. I am not sure how many of you are familiar with Nancy's name, but I didn't see anything posted about Nancy. If anyone would like the contact information for sending condolences, please send me a PM or email me thorugh the address on my blog.

In my opinion, families also need to hone their advocacy skills so that this does not happen to others. But I think that there is still the stigma that "they deserved lung cancer" because of smoking. That is one of the reasons my family is trying so hard to get Laurianne's story out.

I also saw the American Lung Association of Virginia was the website. Maybe talk to your local American Lung Association. When I talked to the Indiana one, they said they don't do as much for lung cancer as the American Cancer Society for awareness. It was odd, because it worked differently in Santa Rosa, where my parents live and Laurianne did so much to raise awareness.

Wow, that is beautiful! I want to move to Virginia just to get the license plate now! I think I am going to look at our local BMV website, because I believe I have seen license plate information on there.

I am with you, LisaRN. I want to start a non-profit in my sister's name as well. And I keep telling people I want my sister's name to be as known as Susan Komen. After all, her foundation was also started by a sister. Just to give you some ideas of what I envision (and I think the ideas have been posted): -Supportive group that will understand that lung cancer is the issue, and not blame smoking. Educating the public about lung cancer, and not playing the blame game with lung cancer. -Raising money with events for lung cancer research (like the Susan Komen run) and to help those who can not help themselves. -I suggested to my husband some kind of housing, like the Ronald McDonald House, where families can stay with there loved ones at no cost, instead of having to staying in motels or hotels. -A lung cancer store, like the one of this community, to raise money for lung cancer. -Working with other organizations (such as The American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, Lung Cancer Alliance, etc), instead of against them. In the end, our goal is the same. To stop cancer. -An informative website where people can go to for information on lung cancer, additional resources and links. -I also have looked at Susan Komen's site and just take out breast and put in lung. Right now, my sister's death is still fresh, but this is the type of thing that really keeps me going right now. Every time I do something for lung cancer awareness, that is how I get my "high". That is why my dad and I started a blog for Laurianne as well. I realize that my ideas are not really small ideas, but in the end, my hope is to accomplish these things. I hope they help you also.

Beth, I wouldn't mind seeing your pictures. The more the merrier. We can even try to arrange to put them in the same album if you want. That is a beautiful picture of your sons. Jamie - I know I said it a thousand times, but thank you so much!

When I saw that Don Knotts died, it didn't say how. My mom forwarded me an article that said it was lung cancer. (Sorry, I don't have the link at work.) Even if it wasn't from the disease, it would be nice if the media put complications from lung cancer. Then at least it is still out there. I can't believe how many famous people I have heard die from lung cancer since my sister was diagnosed. I guess I am more sensitive to it now.

I wrote three local stations and to Oprah today. I got my letter to 1999 characters out of the 2000 they allow! Woohoo! Here it is, for anyone who needs inspiration. My mom suggested I put in links so the producers can read more about lung cancer, which is why I mention my website and lchelp.org. Last September, I emailed you about my sister Laurianne who was battling lung cancer and had recently had a brain tumor removed. My sister lost her battle to lung cancer in October of 2005. She was only 25 years old. I would like to see you do a story on Laurianne and people like her who are battling lung cancer. In June 2005, two days after the birth of her son, she was diagnosed with mucinous adenocarcinoma, a rare non-smoker lung cancer. I flew out to California in September 2005 because she had a very large brain tumor removed related to the lung cancer. When she was in ICU, she said she wanted to tell her story to Oprah. Since Laurianne can not be here to tell her story, my family and I feel it is important to tell her story for her. Laurianne was very active in getting the disease noticed in her community. She grew up in California a state that frowns upon smoking. We still are not sure how she got lung cancer. But like Laurianne did in the short amount of time she was here, my family and I are doing what we can to raise awareness. My dad and I started the blog Laurianne's Hope (lauriannes-hope.blogspot.com) to raise awareness of this terrible disease, and to let people know that it is not just for smokers. I hope with the recent death of Dana Reeve, you will consider doing a show on lung cancer and the people it affects. I hope that Oprah can help people realize that lung cancer has a smoking stigma attached to it, but many non-smokers like Dana Reeve, are also getting the disease, and in all age brackets. Thanks to lung cancer, my brother and I no longer have a sister, my parents no longer have a daughter, and my nephew no longer has a mother. I truly feel if my sister can get lung cancer, anyone can. If you would like more lung cancer stories, please visit lchelp.org. There are a lot of great people there who would be willing to share their lung cancer story with Oprah. This is not a rare disease and I feel that it is definitely worthy of Oprah's attention.

My husband suggested we look into this for Indiana. They have liscense plates for everything here.

My sister wanted to get on Oprah after her brain tumor. We took pictures of her scar and everything. I had planned to write again today or tomorrow while the news was still "fresh". I will post if I see any other news agencies to write about.

My sister was a non-smoker with mucinous adenocarinoma (I am not sure if there is more than one type of adenocarinoma). From what I understand, lung cancer doesn't care, but one of my next steps in the battle is to find out more about the types. I saw there is a great section dedicated to this under info.

I heard at work and have been hiding in my cubicle and crying since I heard. I really thought she would pull through.

I am only sorry I didn't get all the music stands. They were so awesome. Jamie surprised me also. I saw a blog entry I wrote displayed on one of the music stands. It is called "Who Deserves Lung Cancer"[/url. I started reading it and then I exclaimed to my husband, "Hey, I wrote that!" Jamie said she liked it. I definately plan to go next year again, and I think my folks will try to be there as well.

Jamie did a wonderful job! My husband is a music afficianado and can be very picky. He really enjoyed the event. He said about several that they were recording quality. (That is saying a lot, since he won't buy certain classical CDs unless he knows conductor.) He also told me I missed two of the best ones because I kept getting up to take pictures of everything. I met Jamie's family as well. They seem very wonderful and supportive. I enjoyed talking to her sisters. I love how loud the kids cheered when I gave the Laurianne's Hope award. I also enjoyed meeting Beth and finding out that we have a lot in common. I am going to post about it on the Laurianne's Hope blog as well, but I might not have it up until tomorrow. My mom let me use her webshots to post the album. I put it as the top album: http://community.webshots.com/user/jokoko Here are the videos of my speeches. One is for 1st and 2nd division, the other for 3rd and 4th division. Jamie, thank you again for everything and let's make sure to keep in touch!

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/394628p-334578c.html Bruce Hart, 'Sesame St.' lyrics writer, dies at 68 Bruce Hart, best known for his "Sesame Street" lyrics and the song "Free to Be ... You and Me," died Tuesday at home in Manhattan. He was 68. The cause was lung cancer, according to his wife, Carole Hart. The couple wrote for the PBS television children's show after its debut in 1969. Bruce Hart also wrote the "Sesame Street" theme lyrics and music with Joe Raposo and Jon Stone. After one season of "Sesame Street," Hart and his wife produced a children's album and television special. Called "Free to Be ... You and Me," it starred Marlo Thomas, Mel Brooks, Harry Belafonte and Michael Jackson. Bruce Hart also worked for the TV show "Candid Camera" and wrote the lyrics for the Cass Elliott hit "One Way Ticket." He and his wife produced the Emmy-winning NBC series for adolescents titled "Hot Hero Sandwich." They also produced a series of educational films about psychology. In addition to his wife, Hart is survived by a brother, Alan Hart, of Akron, Ohio. The Associated Press

Jamie - I for one am not bothered by the updates. Let me know if you need anything else from me. I can also send you pictures of Laurianne right after she had her brain metastasis from the lung cancer removed, if you think that would be effective. (We took pictures in case Oprah called us back!)

Jamie, You did great! I am looking forward to seeing you there! Lynda

My husband and I discussed this the other day when I read the article. It disgusts me. I said to him if there ever was a cure for cancer, we would still have an epidemic because Corporate America has to make the big bucks.

I posted about this on my blog. I hope it brings some awareness to what a cancer sufferer has to go through.

Wow! That is terrific! What a generous man!

That would be awesome! I will see what I can do.

Thanks so much for doing this, Jamie! You are an inspiration! I am going to see if I can get down there for this event. It sounds like fun.

My family and I signed this right after my sister died. I also have a signing sheet I printed so my husband can collect signitures at work. They have told me not to do so at my place of employement.

My uncle forwarded this to my dad and my dad to me. It is a very interesting documentary. SUPERIOR - Susan Dewitt enjoys reading stories to her youngest child. But the story her two older children are telling is deeply personal. Dewitt, 42, of Superior, was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer nearly two years ago. She smoked when she was in high school, then quit. The cancer has now spread to her brain. She decided to produce a documentary film, with her children as the stars. Speaking directly into the camera they tell their story, and urge their peers to stop or never start smoking. She got the idea one day at the mall, when she saw a group of teenagers smoking. "So I said to the teens, what if you saw a documentary with your peers talking about lung cancer and what it has done to them, would that change your mind about smoking?" All of the teens said yes and encouraged her to pursue the project. She hopes the film will be shown to middle school and high school students in Colorado. You can watch the entire documentary by clicking the link on this page.

Thank you all. It turned out to be a pretty good day. I dragged my husband Christmas shopping on the 24th. It was only then that I decided we needed gifts. I missed my sister, though, and lit a candle for her.