Elaine Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Hope you all read the wonderful article that BeckyGs college newspaper did on her. There is also a place to add comments. I don't mean to pick on a specific person, who is obviously close to BeckyG and her family, so I hope BeckyG won't take this personally. But anyway, one of the commenters talked about his own mother who died of lc and who was also a non-smoker. And then he says that she, like Becky, lived a good "clean life." Sheesh, that always bothers me--what else do some people think smokers are doing--worshipping the devil, selling xxxo to kids?????? Ok I admit in the physical, smoking is dirty, like ashes etc., but there seems to be other connotations to what is said. Ok--I maybe only have ONE more rant in me for the day--lol Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beckyg Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Elaine, I think this is all part of the attitude that we are all working to change from different angles. I spend a lot of time talking about the fact that I am in these shoes and didn't ever smoke--not because I think I am somehow better than those who got here because of smoking, but because I want people to know that smoking isn't the only way to get on this roller coaster. I might be in a very different health position today if I had pushed harder when I first started thinking that something wasn't quite right in my lungs. But I let doctors convince me that I didn't fit the profile for lung cancer or really any serious lung problems. That said, I think that most people who comment about smoking and lung cancer are doing it out of ignorance and that very human desire to convince themselves that they are "safe". (If I didn't smoke, I don't have to worry about that. Whew! What a relief.) Feel free to rant about it, but then let's keep gently correcting that misconception. Personally, I have always been anti-smoking. Not so much because of the health concerns--I just think it is a nasty, stinky habit. I think that one good thing that the last year has done for my personality is change that attitude from "Anti-smoker" to "Anti-SMOKING". I have much more awareness of the difference between the person and the habit. Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Okay, Elaine....just to give the SMOKERS and EX-SMOKERS a break here, let me give you an insight to MY "good clean life"... I make snap judgments that sometimes bite me in the butt, but I still do it... I engaged in pre-marital sex - before BOTH marriages... I ENJOY getting "poop"-faced drunk every now and then... I LOVED New Orleans with the fetish shops and "adult toy stores", etc. (Sorry, only mind-altering drugs I ever took were by prescription...) I go out of my way to kill spiders (guess that means I'm discriminating - eight legs, you're toast). I tease my child - tell him stories that get more and more outlandish until he catches on. I gamble - but am now limited to "instant" tickets or lottery tickets since casinos are far too smoky... I dance (and due to smoke can no longer frequent the "watering holes" with live music)... ...and if older men dating younger women are cradle robbers, my hubby shows that I'M a "grave robber"! (Don't tell him, he prefers to be the thief! LOL) How's that? Didn't smoke, no drugs...but not squeeky clean, either. So shoot me! Life is all about choices.... ANYHOW, I guess I have a bit of an attitude today myself...not angry at anyone here, just generally P.O.'ed at my current circumstances - and paddling like hell to change that. As for the "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda" regarding chosing to smoke, get over it already! Most of ya'll know that if you could have been in the majority to NOT get lung cancer, you probably would only think of quitting when the PRICE went up - that's what I've seen in MY family. Aren't we all like that? Lucky that SOME circumstances didn't happen to us, no thought of changing the actions that COULD have put us in harm's way when there was no consequence.... All I can do is wipe the sweat off my brow in relief that not all of my youthful indiscretions met with worst case scenario...ya know? Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted March 2, 2004 Author Share Posted March 2, 2004 Thank you for replying, BeckyG. And you sure clarified something for me: the difference between being anti-smoking and anti-smoker. I don't think anyone in their right mind would be out promoting people to be "smokers."--hey, I guess that means cigerette companies aren't in their right minds. It's just that I take offense at being somehow defined by just one of the things I did--smoke. I was smart enough not to do it, but did it anyway just as millions of "smart enough" people do. It goes beyond an intellectual level, like all addictions. And I am sure that the person who posted the comment, is also a good person and shouldn't be "judged" by one comment. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhutch1366 Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Becky, I know what you mean. I got off easily too, vis a vis consequences. And as for smoking 2 packs a day for 27 years, I get cancer that one doctor told me was NOT smoker's cancer -- the pancoast. So shoot me. I paid my money and I took my chances. Blaming it on what I breathed and when doesn't change the fact of my disease, or what needs to be done to deal with it. As one of my friends put it, we all played..... by chance, I had to pay. Thank God my doctors and my family were not judgemental. Well, maybe my mom a little, but not so it mattered much. She was mostly supportive. So most of the "you got what you deserve" attitudes I have gotten secondhand, from y'all's stories. Same kind of grief and stigma given to HIV patients... too many of the good old guys I guess got a wink and a nod about vd with their antibiotics. I am fortunate to live in a very progressive region of the country. Small minds will fight to remain small, regardless of the battlefield. I do continue to pray for all those with lung cancer, and all my friends with other cancers, regardless of what type it is. Awful disease in human cost, and apparently a consequence of our biology as much as anything else. I'm done. Thanks. XOXOX MaryAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Hi Elaine, under what forum is the article on BeckyG, I'd like to read it. thanks David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted March 2, 2004 Author Share Posted March 2, 2004 Lung Cancer in the News Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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