Our friend Cindy passed away from lung cancer at age 39, and we attended her funeral in Houston on November 1, 2014. That day was difficult for both of us. With Cindy’s passing, four of the lung cancer patients we had become friends with and mentors to had died. They didn’t live as long with the diagnosis as Chris had. He had a little bit of survivor’s guilt because he was diagnosed first.
“Why am I still here and they’re not?” he asked.
Cindy’s death strengthened his determination to be a voice for people who can no longer speak for themselves here on earth. He wanted to raise awareness of this despicable disease and get it the attention it deserves.
The media has done a fantastic job of teaching our society that smoking can cause cancer. Now another harmful influence is causing deaths from lung cancer in those who have never smoked due to delayed diagnosis—stigma. People, including many doctors, still think that only smokers get the disease.
Invariably, when Chris told someone he had lung cancer, they would ask, “Did you smoke?” I became so frustrated with this that I started answering that question before it was asked. “He never smoked.”
We were mystified why the number one cause of cancer deaths could be one of the lowest funded and least talked about. People assume those with the disease brought it upon themselves. That’s like saying to a woman with breast cancer, “It’s your fault you have cancer because you have breasts.” If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer.
We heard the same story every time we met new patients who had never smoked; they weren’t diagnosed until they were already stage IV. Their doctors didn’t suspect this disease because of their lack of smoking history. The disease is hard to treat if it’s not caught early. By stage IV, there’s a poor five-year survival rate.
The face of lung cancer is changing. Every year, more never-smokers are diagnosed. They’re being diagnosed in their twenties and thirties—and even as young as age nine—with no typical symptoms. According to the American Cancer Society, more women die every year from lung cancer than from breast cancer.
Chris’s early medical reports from when he was originally diagnosed documented, “The patient claims to have never smoked.” This led me to believe they suspected he probably smoked at some point in his life, causing his own disease.
Although I was disappointed they didn’t correctly diagnose Chris’s condition, I was never angry. Instead, I decided to educate the medical professionals in our area about the stigma of lung cancer and its influence on misdiagnosis.
I sent a letter to several primary care physicians and pulmonologists in our hometown. I needed something good to come from Chris’s bout with the disease. Below is an excerpt:
Lung cancer kills more people than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined, but comes with the stigma that it could have been avoided by not smoking. However, 10%–20% of lung cancer patients (like my husband) have never smoked. Please help raise awareness among doctors and share this letter with them. If your patients have a cough that won’t go away, please suggest a CT scan (not just an x-ray) more quickly if you can’t diagnose a problem that could be related to lung cancer. Just because a person has never smoked doesn’t mean they aren’t at risk for this horrible disease. Early detection rarely happens in lung cancer patients—especially in never-smokers. You can help change this in the medical profession.
I included Chris’s business card that contained his photo and a link to his blog. I also gave the doctors permission to contact me for more information about the disease in never-smokers, but no one ever did. Had I wasted my time? During one of my own doctor appointments, I handed Chris’s business card to him. The doctor immediately realized this was the patient that another doctor in the building had told him about. Word was getting out after all.
Please help me get the word out to other people. If you have friends or loved ones who have a cough that won’t go away, especially if they have any of the common symptoms of lung cancer, urge them to see a doctor. A CT scan may be necessary to rule out lung cancer.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. My late husband’s birthday is also in November. In honor of both, I will be offering free shipping within the United States on all purchases made via my website for the entire month of November. (Use the promo code LUNGCANCERMONTH at checkout.) I will also donate 10% of the profits to LUNGevity for lung cancer research.
Click on the “Home” tab to order Cancer on Two Wheels and His Love Carries Me.