My Journey with Lung Cancer

My name is Christine and I am a lung cancer advocate.

One might wonder how a person is inspired to become an advocate for the leading cancer killer in the world, the one that receives the least amount of funding due to its ENORMOUS amount of (unfair, unjust and incorrect) stigma. I am here to try and explain this.

My journey with lung cancer began when I was a teenager. My step grand dad was diagnosed with lung cancer when I was just 17. I knew absolutely nothing about lung cancer nor did it truly have an impact on me, aside from the fact that it stole my Grandpa Don from me.  It never made any difference to me at that age that it was lung cancer that killed my grandpa. I was a self absorbed teenager with life to live.

In 2002 I met Brad, a very successful 27 year old engineer who owned his own oil company. We met online and as time went by we developed an incredible friendship. Brad was one of the most health conscious people I have ever known. He never smoked; he only drank in moderation and spent hours and hours at the local gyms. Brad only ate good and healthy foods. I used to kid him and say he could have been the poster boy for healthy living. Unfortunately, Brad was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005. It was more than just a shock for me; it was life changing. Brad lost his fight in December of 2006; a mere 3 months after his diagnosis.

In 2009 I was faced, yet again, with the lung cancer demons. This time, it was my 71 year old step father, Jerry. He was a US Navy veteran and was employed by a local mill as a machine shop worker. He was a lifelong smoker.  His entire cancer journey, like Brad’s lasted 3 months from the time he was diagnosed.

All of these people were hugely important to me; they played major roles in my life. Having learned so much from Brad’s diagnosis and after seeing the disparities in the way lung cancer is viewed, funded and treated, I decided that I had to do something to make a difference. Out of these losses came my initial venture into cancer advocacy. I created www.cancergrief.com as a clearing house for information and support. I decided that I needed to focus solely on lung cancer and after a lot of thought; I created the Make Some Noise For Lung Cancer network which began as a Facebook page and has now grown into its own website.  Today the Facebook page is home to 2,500+ members.

I am very happy and honored to now be a part of the Cancer Shop USA family. I have written a book that chronicles my journey to becoming an advocate for Lung Cancer patients which is available at Cancer Shop USA

I appreciate the time you took to read my story at the Cancer Shop USA blog.

Wishing you well

Always, Christine