Thought provoking blog post…
{I will preface this post by saying that anyone that is diagnosed with cancer has their world changed forever. The clock begins to tick, world closes in on you, and your world is changed in a way that will never be the same. I am being provocative. I am challenging.}
For those of you that I have had the privilege of meeting, and for those of you I have not met, you know and will come to find that cancer is the story of my life. It is what I have dedicated my professional career to try and make an impact. I am fortunate enough to be able to combine my passion, my talent, and my wisdom all into one single focus.
In October I made a commitment to wear a bow tie the same color of the cancer awareness for that specific month. October was easy, it was Breast…
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A New Beginning 
Thanks for posting this blog from CancerGeek, Ruth. The statistics cited are staggering. And I hadn’t realized about the stigma mentioned in the post until my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. THEN I did find that I had to keep answering the question about whether or not she had smoked. The fact that she had not, seemed to garner her some sympathy from those I was talking to. But CancerGeek is correct that this should not matter…
Exactly, Anne. Especially since ~80% of new diagnoses are for people who are not smokers.
Hi Ruth, Thanks for sharing. I just starting reading your blog. I too have stage 4 non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer EGFR+ with recent metastasis to liver,adrenal and on Nov.13 brain MRI= I now also have mets to brain 12 lesions. Good news is that I feel Great. Good news is that I have been dealing with lung cancer since 10/18/12…so over 13 months and going strong. No one that sees me would ever know that I have cancer. I read in your Oct. blog of being told 6-12 months survival rate.Those are old numbers & things are changing quickly for the good..DO NOT believe those numbers. NO one can give anyone an expiration date. You do not have to ‘live up ” to anyone’s expectations.I never asked my doctor & do not plan on it. I just take one day at a time because the present is all we have…and it’s a gift.I know plenty of lung cancer people with stage 4 that are 8-12 years out from their diagnosis…so anything is possible. Please remember that. A real good source of info. & support can be found at the “Bonnie J.Addario Lung Cancer Foundation” site out of CA. She also has webstream support groups monthly & archieves of previous support groups you can watch on line. They are really great & they usually have a guest speaker present at each meeting. it is called “The lung cancer Living Room support group”. Also, if you need some more inspiration & examples of living long & well with stage 4…check out my friend: Diane Legg of Mass. she is featured in this month’s prevention magazine,Diane has been living well with stage 4 for over 9 years. Also “Inspire ” site.and “Grace’ site is good for info. & support. I find surrounding myself with positive strong people who are also dealing with lung cancer to be very empowering. I hope your treatments go well. I would take “Emend” when I did my chemo & NEVER got sick. Last Fall 2012, I started 4 rounds of chemo every 3 weeks IV infusions ~7 hours each time. Cisplatin & Altima. Then i had my upper left lung surgically removed in March 2013. Followed by 30 rounds of radiation to chest in June . And now on Tarceva since Sept. 2013. I go for a follow up brain MRI on Dec.13~lucky Friday. I may need to do brain radiation if the lesions are not responding to the Tarceva. But I know of plenty of people who have done brain radiation with out any problems…so if I have to do that I will. One day at a time for now. Today is a good day. I wish you many good days. I wish you many good years ahead. It IS Possible ! Trying to stay positive & optimistic will take you far on this crazy cancer journey. hang in there. If you ever need to talk email me : costellocnm@yahoo.com Wishing you all the best,Maureen
PS ~ If you like humor, check out Craig Blower’s blog called “Get Fuzzy” on worldpress. he has stage 4 lung cancer & blogs about it in a very funny & creative way. Laughter is good medicine~
Wow – a treasure trove of resources – Thank you! Blessings.