My Grandpa passed away on September 1st, 2014 of lung cancer. I left his wake to catch my plane out to Stanford to attend Medicine X. When Janet walked out on the stage and gave this ignite talk I was speechless. I had chills, I had tears in my eyes, I had an explosion of emotions.
She is SO right. Janet brought up something that has NEVER crossed my mind. Lung cancer has a complete image problem. I’m so grateful that the Breast Cancer Awareness movement has occurred and has saved so many lives – but what about all the other forms of cancer that rob us of our loved ones every.single.day???
Is there a lung cancer month when the NFL wears white, The Ellen Show plays games or Good Morning America has a big concert to raise awareness. GUESS WHAT?! THERE IS! November IS Lung Cancer Awareness month.
Lung cancer does have an image problem.
To be 100% completely honest, when I think of lung cancer the first thought I have is ‘Did they smoke?’. Janet even mentions this in her talk. This is the image and stigma we have when we think of lung cancer. And she’s right – maybe it’s not a healthy habit to have, but does it warrant the death penalty?
Janet created a wonderful blog called Grey Connections. I encourage you to check it out and read her story. She’s so inspiring and extremely motivating. I know in my heart that Janet will be around for a long time, raising hell to get lung cancer out there. And I can’t wait to watch and support her in her journey.
Below is the ignite talk that Janet gave during Medx:
Wishing You A Pain Free Day!
