Debi Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Well, once again the stirrings of Relay for Life are beginning in my city. My company is a Corporate sponsor and once again I have been asked to serve on the Relay for Life committee for the event, or at the very least, to be a team captain at my workplace. I'm really torn about this one. As people have posted before, I don't want to be a snob against other cancers but I also don't want to work my butt off if there are no benefits to MY cancer. I know that ACS doesn't support lung cancer the way that we would like them to and this has stopped me from participating in any way the previous years. But am I looking at it from the wrong angle? Would serving on the committee as a lung cancer survivor maybe help bring awareness to at least some people? Or would it just serve to pis_ me off ?? And also, would I gain contacts working Relay that I can use to help me with future lung cancer issues/benefits/whatever? I've been asked to go up to OKC the end of the month for a workshop at the ACS chapter. I'm thinking of going to check things out but of course I need to be well armed . I've seen posts with links to websites here before regarding the ACS statistics and what they donate to where, etc. Also there were links to articles about a major portion of ACS donations going to administrative purposes but I can't seem to find them. If anyone has any links to websites regarding the ACS stance on lung cancer, would appreciate if you could post them. Also, if anyone has any thoughts on what I should do, I would appreciate that too. I'm just SO on the fence with this one- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy B Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Golly Debi, I would really be "on the fence" too. I have participated in several Relay's. The last couple of ones, I have done the survivors lap only and not contributed any money to ACS. During the lap I talked to people about lung cancer but that is about it. The last one, they had a booth set up against smoking. It listed every celebrity that had died of lung cancer from smoking. Can you set up your tent or area and have your own theme? I am just not that familiar with the RFL structure to know what they allow. Good luck to you and if you get a team together, I would love to sponsor you. Take care, Nancy B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginnyde Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Debi, I guess I believe that any voice out there for lc helps the cause. Maybe ACS doesn't support us well enough is because they don't hear us. Also, so many of the drugs that are now used for lc were developed for other cancers - so I guess any cancer research done has the capability of helping many cancers. But as Katie said, it is most important that you do what feels right for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Debi, If you're going to a workshop, get some contact times on the administrative level and start talking to "the powers that be". I don't agree with the support for LC being smoking cessation, that continues to breed ignorance where LC causes are concerned. My stepson pointed out that you could get "the Patch" at ACS for $5 instead of the $40 off the drugstore shelf - this showing "funding" by ACS to lower that price. If the group is going to preach prevention as the "cure" for LC, maybe they should preach abstinence as the "cure" for cervical cancer and/or pass out condoms?...hmmm... I know that my local ACS had one helluva counselor who talked to me a whole afternoon when I was first diagnosed and again two months later when I was going through cancer. There is a lot of value in that service, but I'm sure not all ACS offices have a retired oncology nurse with her degree in social work... I hear ya about that fence. I would go for it for the contacts and speaking up to the big guys for more understanding and funding for a cure. Anyway you could convince them to have a speaker on behalf of lung cancer, if you can think of anyone? Good luck, Debi. Wear a "Don't smoke, I might croak" frog t-shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Yes by all means do it for all the reasons above. If your company is a sponsor it certainly can't hurt your standing there either. Employers love employees that make them look good. All cancer research is good as Ginny says. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresag Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Debi, I think one reason lung ca is not as well-funded as other cancers is precisely because there are not enough vocal survivors. You can make a difference in changing some of the misconceptions about who is affected by this disease as a young woman who has survived lung cancer. Show them who you are; even if it does pi** you off. And thank you. - Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 Debi, I, like the rest, appreciate all that you do for the cause. I've found a couple of sites that may be helpful regarding ACS as a whole. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.c ... d/6495.htm http://charityreports.give.org/Public/R ... rityID=186 Then I ran into this scary article which could just be propaganda: http://www.preventcancer.com/losing/acs ... _links.htm Thank you Debi, you're unrelenting and you really hold the interest of lung cancer patients in the forefront. You're a treasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debi Posted January 2, 2006 Author Share Posted January 2, 2006 Thanks all for your replies, I so respect all of you so take your comments to heart.. I guess I'll at least go up to the workshop on the 21st and make up my mind from there. And thanks Sheri for the links- that one website was one of the ones I was looking for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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