Anger, and a Request

Just a quick note from the East Coast on yet another beautiful Spring day (they say the rains will stop by the 40th day; if you have an Ark I am interested in making a reservation).

Like Andy, I too am blessed with a great brother, friends and family. And they have been doing a great job checking in with me on how my parents and I are handling this. Everyone asks "What Can I Do?"

Some have asked "Are you Angry?" This is understandable - Andy's a young, great guy with a beautiful family, good job, great heart and strong mind - no one 'deserves' to have cancer, and it seems even more 'unfair' and even unbelievable that a healthy, young, non-smoker would be diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Am I Angry? Sure, I, my parents, and our friends, I am sure, go through periods of anger at this situation.

The reality is It's Not Fair - but I remind myself to vent as I need to, to step back from that precipice, to let the anger and pity go, because, really, neither one will help - and focus my energies on doing all that I can for Andy and the countless others out there in the same boat.

For those of you who really know me, you know that when I need to fight back I research and get the facts. And the more I learn, the more I Am Angry.

Everyone has heard about the impact of Breast and Prostate cancers to women and men; each is the #1 cancer killer in their respective gender. Lung Cancer is genderless - it kills more than breast, prostate, colon, liver, melanoma and kidney cancer combined. Yet Lung Cancer receives the lowest amount of federal cancer research funding. Full details about Lung Cancer and the lack of appropriate federal research funding can be found here on the Lung Cancer Alliance website.

There are theories as to why this is. Lung Cancer is political - for two reasons. I, like most, until recently assumed incorrectly that Lung Cancer just struck smokers; while cancer of any type is a tragedy, there is an unspoken prejudice that since someone chooses to smoke, it could have been prevented. While a majority of Lung Cancer patients have smoked, the number of new patients is trending towards non-smokers: since 2008, 60% of newly diagnosed Lung Cancer patients are non-smokers.

The other 'hidden' reason is something else that I had assumed until recently as well. Anyone remember the movie "The Insider" about the tobacco industry researcher that went on the 60 Minutes television program? That 1994 interview led to the landmark agreement between 46 states and Big Tobacco (the "November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement"). The 46 states, plus US territories, are to be allocated over $200 Billion (that's right, Billion with a 'B') over a 25 year period. Per the agreement, the money is to go towards treating health issues associated with tobacco.

Since the agreement was at the state level, there is no federal oversight into how the states use the money. So guess what? As there is no policing of the use of the funds the estimate is that less than 1% of the funds allocated through 2009 is being used to fund research into early detection methods and new treatments.

Is anyone else angry when they read that?

Washington finally woke up to this disparity between Lung Cancer and federal research in 2009, and submitted the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009.

Malcolm X wrote "Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change."

So here's my challenge to you. Here's what you can do to help. Get Angry. Reach out to your Senators and Representatives and ask them to Support the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act. Fill out this form. The form will generate a letter to your political leaders and email it to their Washington offices.

Alright! I'll get off my soapbox now. Turns out that this is not a quick note. But it is important, and I thank you for reading it, and acting on it.

Tim