“I am nothing but I must be everything.” ― Karl Marx
On Dec. 28, 2010, I was told I had lung cancer. It didn't seem possible. I was only 24!
On Dec. 28, 2010, I was told I had lung cancer. It didn't seem possible. I was only 24!
Early in December I had experienced persistent chest pain that ultimately led me to my local Emergency Room. I received a CT Scan that showed a mass in the middle lobe of my right lung. On December 28, 2010 after a series of non-surgical procedures it was determined to be lung cancer.
On Jan. 20, 2011 Dr. Joel Cooper (right side photo) of University of Pennsylvania Hospital removed two-thirds of my right lung.Before my surgery I had 23 of the longest days of my life knowing that I was living with cancer.
After surgery, those who had surrounded me returned to their daily routines. But I was left wondering, "How could this happen to me?" I thought to myself over and over, "What if I never found out? Would I still have lung cancer right now?"
My friends didn't understand, which made it difficult to talk to them about any aspect of my cancer. This was the first time in my life that I felt completely helpless. Simple tasks such as sitting up in bed, walking from one room to the next and taking a deep breath were significantly difficult after surgery.
Even now, many days, it doesn't seem real, and I don't want to believe that I ever had lung cancer.
This disease has changed my whole perspective on life, which has forced me to refuse to take anything for granted. Since learning of my diagnosis, I have been horrified to find that there is little known about this cancer. However, the smoking stigma overwhelms society's view.
I was a smoker, but the type of lung cancer I had, Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma, is not associated with smoking. Instead, this type of cancer begins in the mucus lining the lungs and salivary glands.
(Photo of tumor - lower left and right below black hole)
Dr. Joel Cooper believed I had lung cancer for at least 5 years before discovered, and middle lobe of right lung had been collapsed for at least one year.
But this has not persuaded critics of this disease. I have been told that I deserved lung cancer because I smoked, and that I should "get over it" and stop talking about it.
But I refuse to stop talking.
This disease needs to be openly discussed, especially because of the stigma. Lung cancer survivors are made to feel personally to blame for a disease they did not ask for. It should not matter how you got the disease -- the objective must be to find a cure.
With the support of an organization called LUNGevity Foundation, I hope that one day we can all breathe free from lung cancer. The LUNGevity Foundation's mission statement focuses on improving lung cancer survival rates, ensuring a higher quality of life for patients and providing a community for those impacted by lung cancer.
I have found a family within this organization that has given me hope for my future and the future of lung cancer. We share the same vision -- a world without lung cancer.
