Op ed on LC in Newsday

[Guest cq]

Here's a link to an opinion piece that appears in today's Newsday:

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny- ... Dheadlines

The author's father has lung cancer and never smoked.

[Debaroo]

CQ, thank you so much for bringing this article to our attention. I am from Long Island, and used to get Newsday-until two weeks ago-now I am going to call and get a new subscription-and I'm going to write an editorial praising this article, too. Thanks again!! Deb

[Guest DaveG]

Randi has posted here and other Support Sites as well. Good article and straight to the point. LC, absolutely, is NOT an exclusive disease, as perceived by far too many outside of LC.

[Karma1976]

Yes it is the cancer people seem to give little sympathy too. I usually get when someone finds out my dad has LC they end by saying...well he smoked most his life right. ( i can almost see in their expression, well i mean are you really shocked???) um yes in your head if it makes you feel secure that he put it on himself, then sure. So sad that people actually do that.

[Guest DaveG]

My friend, who recently was diagnosed with lung cancer, quit smoking in 1975. His doctors have told him that smoking has NOTHING to do with his cancer. He is a farmer, and they are suspicious of all the things around the farm that he has been exposed to all his life. I, too, have many other risk factors, other than smoking, which contributed to my LC. He has a very positive attitude and says he is going to beat this. He is a Stage III. He, too, has been faced with the smoking stigma, and reports that several have looks of disbelief when he tells them smoking DID NOT cause his lung cancer.

[Karma1976]

I know my dad quit 10-15 years before this and he works for a well-known plant. The first shop he was in got closed down and years later they found out the land was contaminated (by the way the family house that he grew up and now resides again in is right across the street) so to say that it is directly smoking can not 100% be proven I guess. I mean yes it obviously has a lot to do with it, but just the stigma it gets is so sad and I think unfair. Smoking before was everywhere. I mean it really has not been until the last 10-15 years or so that smoking has become such a grotesque horrid behavior in people's eyes. Before when my dad was growing up, everyone smoked.

[Guest DaveG]

Karm:

You are so right. Sad to say, I am part of that generation, who thought smoking was the "classy" thing to do. Many of us, fortunately quit well before we were diagnosed. It still, however, remains as a stigma, with us, in the eyes of those who knew us when. I find it amazing, especially with the physiology of adeno, in that it usually attacks the lung from the outside. (I emphasize the word USUALLY). With that in mind, smoking, at least to me, is not a big factor with lung cancer. NSCLC accounts for the larger portion of lung cancer diagnosis. The other factor is that smoking can be associated with a large number of the cancers today. The misconceived public perception is that smoke is introduced to the lungs, so therefore lung cancer is directly related to smoking. It doesn't matter that nicotine, and other smoke related byproducts, get into the blood stream and settle elswhere as carcinogens (in the eyes of the public and the media). Yes, we still have much to overcame.

I am against smoking because it is a big health issue and is responsible for many illnesses.

[Guest randi817]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback on today's article. I am a reporter for Newsday, and it's nice that they allow us to publish opinion pieces every now and then (on things we don't write about in the news section of course!)... I've gotten some good feedback from the folks here at work - and from those who say, "wow I didn't know that."

So thanks to all... It's your support on this group and others that has gotten me through the last six months.

Randi

[bobmc]

Hi Randi;

OUSTANDING MESSAGE!!; I thought the article was right to the point; It made my day. thank you for writing it;

God bless and be well

Bobmc - NSCLC - stage IIB -left pneumonectomy 5/2/01

absolutely insist on enjoying life today!

[Tiny]

Dear Randi-

THANKS A MILLION!! Boy, do we need to clone you and your writing! This is just the kind of message we need to have printed...in spades!