Today is a bittersweet day. Have you ever begun to grieve the end of something, while you are still in the midst of the celebration? I feel like a bride during her wedding dance already missing the guests.
But on this last day of Lung Cancer Awareness Month it's time for me to take the advice of my holistic friends. Stay in the present. Appreciate the efforts of everyone who is working so hard, and do what I can today.
I do want to step back and thank all of the advocacy groups and individuals who worked so hard this month (and planned for a year before). Your efforts are raising awareness about lung cancer in so many ways:
- Our need to spread the word that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women, and nobody is immune
- Our need to let people know that lung cancer is grossly underfunded relative to other cancers, and if we are to make a dent in this leading cancer killer, this needs to change
- Our need to overcome the stigma of lung cancer so we can support people living with lung cancer as we do those living with other cancers
- Our need to educate people about the early symptoms of lung cancer, so we can catch the disease at an earlier, more curable stage
And as we move forward, I might even listen to my "law of attraction" friends. Why can't we turn lung cancer awareness month, into lung cancer awareness year?
If you have any stories about this 2009 Lung Cancer Awareness Month - new fundraisers - people who deserve our praise for all of the effort they are putting forth - or a personal story about how you were touched in some way - please share them. We have so much to be thankful for.
Photo: istockphoto.com
Hi Lynn.
Thank you for your support in the lung cancer movement. We are grateful for everyone who speaks up and speaks out about this terrible disease all year long. There are many diseases but only 12 months of the year and we share November with many other awful diseases. But lung cancer is woefully underfunded and America needs to know that even if we stop smoking tomorrow, it will not cure lung cancer and we will still lose millions of more lives to this disease without necessary research funding.
Thank you for speaking up, speaking loud and speaking proudly.
Tracy
30+ years as a holistic practitioner of Japanese Natural Medicine working with thousands of people with cancer but this year I had to focus on my deepest, oldest friend’s lung cancer and in the process, discovered you. Thank you. November is the month my friend had surgery – successful…and we didn’t know it was Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Onward.
HI TO ALL,
MY NAME IS TWIG ,I WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT I LOVE MY SOULMATE ON OCTOBER 21 2009 .TO LUNG CANCER
ITS BEEN THE HAREST THING I HAVE EVER HAD TO GO THROUGH AFTER 30 YEARS OF BEING MARRIED TO MY BEST FREND .HOW DO YOU WAKE UP ONE DAY AND EVERYTHING YOU TAKE FOR GRANTED BE GONE .I AM NOT SURE BUT MAYBE SOME DAY THIS CAN ALL STOP AND NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS . I PRAY FOR THAT DAY