tatlyn Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 (to learn why this post to Anderson Cooper of CNN's AC360 is posted here see the thread, "Fighting the Stigma") Hi Anderson, I think you are fabulous and I watch you every night. This is in reference to the post on your blog by Sanja Gupta (Reeve's Resilience) and the subsequent comments made. The replies to Sanja's post seem to have come to a grinding halt at a most unfortunate place, a comment which was made by, Michael N of Redding, CA. His words, in my opinion, perpetuate a notion that has attached a stigma to lung cancer wherein the victim of the disease is seen to have *got* what they deserved for smoking the evil weed. This attitude, which I believe is prevalent and insidious, is, in my opinion, the reason funding into lung cancer research is lacking and lagging in the face of it killing more people each year than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. The catch line to your blog states, "...get out of the way and let the story reveal itself." Anderson, the *WHAT* which is in the way of the facts here is smoke, cigarette smoke and unless and until society at large stops blaming the victims of this disease (after all, the thought goes, even if a person with lung cancer NEVER smoked, the culprit is still likely smoke, secondhand) the truth will never be revealed. Anderson, I implore you NOT to allow the blog comments to end with this man's twisted words. They perpetuate a myth and do you, a man with such personal integrity, a great disservice. It could also imply your endorsment of the comment and I really don't believe that you do or would. I made a comment after Michael's and I know that several others from a wonderful forum that I participate in, “the Lung Cancer Support Community” located at: http://lchelp.org/community/index.php did as well. Anderson, would you please publish these additional comments? Also, if you care to check it out, the above site is inhabited by some of the very best people in the world; lung cancer patients, their loved ones and caregivers. I can’t think of a better place to start a search for the truth. Thanks Anderson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma1976 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Good Job!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze100 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 As a never smoker diagnosed at age 46 with a 10 cm lung tumor, I took great offense to the Redding CA comment "lung cancer is almost always the result of personal choice and is thus almost always preventable." Take it from me, no one deserves the pain and suffering from lung cancer, except maybe the good folks that make the cigarettes. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindseysmom Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Way to go. Best Wishes, Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melindasue37 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Wow, very nicely done. We are very fortunate to have you on OUR side. Thank you!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tatlyn Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 2nd Request, sent: 03-12-05 Hi Anderson, I wrote you the other day regarding Sanjay's entry in your blog, "Reeve's resilience left me hopeful," and the subsequent comments, specifically, the one posted by, *Michael N, of Redding, CA* which read in part: "Unlike most other types of cancer, lung cancer is almost always the result of personal choice and is thus almost always preventable. I fail to understand why we as a society should divert precious resources and medical research away from diseases that target truly innocent victims to help save or prolong the lives of people who disregard life by choosing to smoke." Anderson, THIS WAS THE LAST ENTRY POSTED TO THE COMMENTS IN THE BLOG and I asked when I wrote the other day that you please NOT end the comments on such a stigma, perpetuating note. If this wretched post were somewhere in the middle of the comments it would have angered me but so do a lot of things about this disease. I live with it. As it is, being the last comment in the blog, it almost seems to me to stand as, *the final word* and the defining notion of the topic. I am very much aware, sadly so, that this person's views on the subject are unfortunately held by many but I am also aware that it is this precise attitude which causes lung cancer research funds to be woefully inadequate and disproportionally low as compared to funding of other cancers. As was said by an MD Anderson Doctor this morning, on Sanjay's show; Public perception dictates public funding (in lung cancer research). Please Anderson, don't let this comment stand as the last one which will linger in people's minds. I know that I posted a comment, after Michael's, as did several others from the, "Lung Cancer Support Community," http://lchelp.org/community/index.php I'm hoping that you will reopen the comments to add ours as well. If, by chance, the additional comments are no longer available to you, I would be happy, as others would be as well, to provide you with new comments. Sincerely, Lynda, Ontario, Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gail Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 You go girl!!!! gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C. Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Thank you Lynda. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethluvswill13 Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 Good Going!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eppie Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Lynda, you did good, girl. You did good. Thanks for letting us know about this posting and his blog. I will watch and see what happens next. EPpie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebsSky Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Bravo Lynda....you go girl!! Wasn't homosexuality and intervenous drug use the general concensus for a long time regarding Aids and HIV? Could that not be considered reckless disregard for the gift of life, (not that I am saying that it is as we all know that it can be contracted in many different ways)? How long did it take for public opinion to change regarding it though? Ignorance is bliss is some situations, I guess. Sad, but true. All the best, Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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