In addition to founding my nonprofit organization, I am one of the leaders of the Lung Cancer Action Network (LungCAN). LungCAN is an association comprising non-profit organizations with a focus on lung cancer, as well as patient biomarker groups, such as ALK-positive, EGFR Resistors, KRAS Kickers and so on. Members of LungCAN come together once a month for a virtual meeting. We also have an annual in-person meeting. We work collaboratively on different projects throughout the year. Collaborating helps prevent duplication of services, which is a no-no in the nonprofit community. Most nonprofits operate on very tight budgets, and duplicating services is wasteful. We also keep each other informed about our awareness campaigns and other activities so everyone is on the same page.
Of course, Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction is a member of LungCAN. I've known fellow advocates Jackie Nixon and Gloria Linnertz for years. We have collaborated on several projects over the years.Jackie was our expert speaker for the LiveLung National Virtual Lung Cancer group during Radon Action Month, at noon ET, on Jan. 11.
I really appreciate the work the CR3 team does. Few LungCAN member organizations focus exclusively on radon, like CR3. Radon is low hanging fruit in the fight against lung cancer. It's easy to test for radon—andinexpensive. It’s also relatively easy to mitigate a home for radon. Compared to other risk reduction activities, testing and mitigating for radon are quick solutions to a deadly problem.
Trying to quit smoking—or worse—trying to convince someone else to quit smoking, can be challenging. As someone who used to smoke, frankly, quitting was extremely difficult for me. I quit in 1979, and was diagnosed with lung cancer 26 years later. Yet, even after all that time, I experienced guilt and shame when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Oddly, I did not feel guilt and shame about being a former smokeruntil I was diagnosed with lung cancer,more than two and a half decades after I quit. That was when people began questioningme about my smoking history.
The very day I was diagnosed, a colleague said, “I didn't know you smoked.” Immediately, Ifelt shame for my prior behavior.
With what other disease do people point fingers and judge others for their disease?
When you think about it, radon is a way to remove that shame and alleviate guilt. Because, instead of symbolically pointing a finger at a person for their behavior, we can point to radon as the cause of lung cancer. In my situation, I do not know if radon was a contributing factor. I had previously lived in a high radon area but was unaware about radon at that time. We will never know. But when it comes to dealing with shame about lung cancer, it does not matter how someone got lung cancer.
Anyone can get lung cancer. No one deserves it. Everyone deserves compassionate equitable care—regardless of their smoking history.
Society has been so conditioned to associate smoking with lung cancer that in a sense we inadvertently discriminate against people who smoke or have a history of smoking. Lung cancer advocates have their work cut out for them to raise awareness about radon, and other risk factors for lung cancer, as well as increase research funding and compassion for people impacted by lung cancer.
To be able to say, “Radon contributed to my lung cancer diagnosis,” can be a starting point for people to consider that it really does not matter what caused the lung cancer. What matters is that people with lung cancer are treated equitably—medically, as well as compassionately.
Whether someone has a history of smoking or not, radon provides an opportunity to respond to the question about smoking in a way that will educate others.
The answer can be, “No, I do not have a history of smoking, and yet I still got lung cancer. May I share with you why I believe I got lung cancer? After I was diagnosed, I heard about radon and I had my home tested and, come to find out, my home had a high radon level. Many people do not realize that they may be at risk if they are living in a home with radon.”
Or it could be, “Yes, I have a history of smoking (or currently smoke) but I recently learned that high radon levels can significantly increase the risk for lung cancer.”
Overall, radon is the number two cause of lung cancer. And, in people who never smoked, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year the number of people who never smoked who get lung cancer is between 20,000 and 40,000. Radon is the number one cause of that.
We need to work together as a community of advocates, as a community of nonprofits, as well as individuals. Radon testers and mitigators need to realize that their work is saving lives. What they do is every bit as important as a surgeon.
We all need to work together. The more we come together, the more we collaborate, the more we're going to help others and potentially eliminate radon as a cause of lung cancer.
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month for a virtual meeting. We also have an annual in-person meeting. We work collaboratively on different projects throughout the year. Collaborating helps prevent dupli- cation of services, which is a no-no
in the nonprofit community. Most nonprofits operate on very tight budgets, and duplicating services is wasteful. We also keep each other informed about our awareness campaigns and other activities so everyone is on the same page.
Of course, Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction is a member of LungCAN. I've known fellow advocates Jackie Nixon and Gloria Linnertz for years. We have collaborated on several projects over the years.Jackie was our expert speaker for the LiveLung National Virtual Lung Cancer group during Radon Action Month, at noon ET, on Jan. 11.
I really appreciate the work the CR3 team does. Few LungCAN member organizations focus exclusively on radon, like CR3. Radon is low hanging fruit in the fight against lung cancer. It's easy to test for radon—andinexpensive. It’s also relatively easy to mitigate a home for radon. Compared to other risk reduction activities, testing and mitigating for radon are quick solutions to a deadly problem.
Trying to quit smoking—or worse—trying to convince someone else to quit smoking, can be challenging. As someone who used to smoke, frankly, quitting was extremely difficult for me. I quit in 1979, and was diagnosed with lung cancer 26 years later. Yet, even after all that time, I experienced guilt and shame when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Oddly, I did not feel guilt and shame about being a former smokeruntil I was diagnosed with lung cancer,more than two and a half decades after I quit. That was when people began questioningme about my smoking history.
The very day I was diagnosed, a colleague said, “I didn't know you smoked.” Immediately, Ifelt shame for my prior behavior.
With what other disease do people point fingers and judge others for their disease?
When you think about it, radon is a way to remove that shame and alleviate guilt. Because, instead of symbolically pointing a finger at a person for their behavior, we can point to radon as the cause of lung cancer. In my situation, I do not know if radon was a contributing factor. I had previously lived in a high radon area but was unaware about radon at that time. We will never know. But when it comes to dealing with shame about lung cancer, it does not matter how someone got lung cancer.
Anyone can get lung cancer. No one deserves it. Everyone deserves compassionate equitable care—regardless of their smoking history.
Society has been so conditioned to associate smoking with lung cancer that in a sense we inadvertently discriminate against people who smoke or have a history of smoking. Lung cancer advocates have their work cut out for them to raise awareness about radon, and other risk factors for lung cancer, as well as increase research funding and compassion for people impacted by lung cancer.
To be able to say, “Radon contributed to my lung cancer diagnosis,” can be a starting point for people to consider that it really does not matter what caused the lung cancer. What matters is that people with lung cancer are treated equitably—medically, as well as compassionately.
Whether someone has a history of smoking or not, radon provides an opportunity to respond to the question about smoking in a way that will educate others.
The answer can be, “No, I do not have a history of smoking, and yet I still got lung cancer. May I share with you why I believe I got lung cancer? After I was diagnosed, I heard about radon and I had my home tested and, come to find out, my home had a high radon level. Many people do not realize that they may be at risk if they are living in a home with radon.”
Or it could be, “Yes, I have a history of smoking (or currently smoke) but I recently learned that high radon levels can significantly increase the risk for lung cancer.”
Overall, radon is the number two cause of lung cancer. And, in people who never smoked, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year the number of people who never smoked who get lung cancer is between 20,000 and 40,000. Radon is the number one cause of that.
We need to work together as a community of advocates, as a community of nonprofits, as well as individuals. Radon testers and mitigators need to realize that their work is saving lives. What they do is every bit as important as a surgeon.
We all need to work together. The more we come together, the more we collaborate, the more we're going to help others and potentially eliminate radon as a cause of lung cancer.
Of course, Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction is a member of LungCAN. I've known fellow advocates Jackie Nixon and Gloria Linnertz for years. We have collabor- ated on several projects over the years.Jackie was our expert speaker for the LiveLung National Virtual
Lung Cancer group during Radon Action Month, at noon ET, on Jan. 11.
I really appreciate the work the CR3 team does. Few LungCAN member organizations focus exclusively on radon, like CR3. Radon is low hanging fruit in the fight against lung cancer. It's easy to test for radon—andinexpensive. It’s also relatively easy to mitigate a home for radon. Compared to other risk reduction activities, testing and mitigating for radon are quick solutions to a deadly problem.
Trying to quit smoking—or worse—trying to convince someone else to quit smoking, can be challenging. As someone who used to smoke, frankly, quitting was extremely difficult for me. I quit in 1979, and was diagnosed with lung cancer 26 years later. Yet, even after all that time, I experienced guilt and shame when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Oddly, I did not feel guilt and shame about being a former smokeruntil I was diagnosed with lung cancer,more than two and a half decades after I quit. That was when people began questioningme about my smoking history.
The very day I was diagnosed, a colleague said, “I didn't know you smoked.” Immediately, Ifelt shame for my prior behavior.
With what other disease do people point fingers and judge others for their disease?
When you think about it, radon is a way to remove that shame and alleviate guilt. Because, instead of symbolically pointing a finger at a person for their behavior, we can point to radon as the cause of lung cancer. In my situation, I do not know if radon was a contributing factor. I had previously lived in a high radon area but was unaware about radon at that time. We will never know. But when it comes to dealing with shame about lung cancer, it does not matter how someone got lung cancer.
Anyone can get lung cancer. No one deserves it. Everyone deserves compassionate equitable care—regardless of their smoking history.
Society has been so conditioned to associate smoking with lung cancer that in a sense we inadvertently discriminate against people who smoke or have a history of smoking. Lung cancer advocates have their work cut out for them to raise awareness about radon, and other risk factors for lung cancer, as well as increase research funding and compassion for people impacted by lung cancer.
To be able to say, “Radon contributed to my lung cancer diagnosis,” can be a starting point for people to consider that it really does not matter what caused the lung cancer. What matters is that people with lung cancer are treated equitably—medically, as well as compassionately.
Whether someone has a history of smoking or not, radon provides an opportunity to respond to the question about smoking in a way that will educate others.
The answer can be, “No, I do not have a history of smoking, and yet I still got lung cancer. May I share with you why I believe I got lung cancer? After I was diagnosed, I heard about radon and I had my home tested and, come to find out, my home had a high radon level. Many people do not realize that they may be at risk if they are living in a home with radon.”
Or it could be, “Yes, I have a history of smoking (or currently smoke) but I recently learned that high radon levels can significantly increase the risk for lung cancer.”
Overall, radon is the number two cause of lung cancer. And, in people who never smoked, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year the number of people who never smoked who get lung cancer is between 20,000 and 40,000. Radon is the number one cause of that.
We need to work together as a community of advocates, as a community of nonprofits, as well as individuals. Radon testers and mitigators need to realize that their work is saving lives. What they do is every bit as important as a surgeon.
We all need to work together. The more we come together, the more we collaborate, the more we're going to help others and potentially eliminate radon as a cause of lung cancer.
I really appreciate the work the CR3 team does. Few LungCAN member organizations focus exclusively on radon, like CR3. Radon is low hanging fruit in the fight against lung cancer. It's easy to test for radon—and inexpensive. It’s also relatively easy to mitigate a home for radon. Compared to other risk reduction activities, testing and mitigating for radon are quick solutions to a deadly problem.
Continued on pg 32 ...
Trying to quit smoking—or worse—trying to convince someone else to quit smoking, can be challenging. As someone who used to smoke, frankly, quitting was extremely difficult for me. I quit in 1979, and was diagnosed with lung cancer 26 years later. Yet, even after all that time, I experienced guilt and shame when I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Oddly, I did not feel guilt and shame about being a former smokeruntil I was diagnosed with lung cancer,more than two and a half decades after I quit. That was when people began questioningme about my smoking history.
The very day I was diagnosed, a colleague said, “I didn't know you smoked.” Immediately, Ifelt shame for my prior behavior.
With what other disease do people point fingers and judge others for their disease?
When you think about it, radon is a way to remove that shame and alleviate guilt. Because, instead of symbolically pointing a finger at a person for their behavior, we can point to radon as the cause of lung cancer. In my situation, I do not know if radon was a contributing factor. I had previously lived in a high radon area but was unaware about radon at that time. We will never know. But when it comes to dealing with shame about lung cancer, it does not matter how someone got lung cancer.
Anyone can get lung cancer. No one deserves it. Everyone deserves compassionate equitable care—regardless of their smoking history.
Society has been so conditioned to associate smoking with lung cancer that in a sense we inadvertently discriminate against people who smoke or have a history of smoking. Lung cancer advocates have their work cut out for them to raise awareness about radon, and other risk factors for lung cancer, as well as increase research funding and compassion for people impacted by lung cancer.
To be able to say, “Radon contributed to my lung cancer diagnosis,” can be a starting point for people to consider that it really does not matter what caused the lung cancer. What matters is that people with lung cancer are treated equitably—medically, as well as compassionately.
Whether someone has a history of smoking or not, radon provides an opportunity to respond to the question about smoking in a way that will educate others.
The answer can be, “No, I do not have a history of smoking, and yet I still got lung cancer. May I share with you why I believe I got lung cancer? After I was diagnosed, I heard about radon and I had my home tested and, come to find out, my home had a high radon level. Many people do not realize that they may be at risk if they are living in a home with radon.”
Or it could be, “Yes, I have a history of smoking (or currently smoke) but I recently learned that high radon levels can significantly increase the risk for lung cancer.”
Overall, radon is the number two cause of lung cancer. And, in people who never smoked, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year the number of people who never smoked who get lung cancer is between 20,000 and 40,000. Radon is the number one cause of that.
We need to work together as a community of advocates, as a community of nonprofits, as well as individuals. Radon testers and mitigators need to realize that their work is saving lives. What they do is every bit as important as a surgeon.
We all need to work together. The more we come together, the more we collaborate, the more we're going to help others and potentially eliminate radon as a cause of lung cancer.
... continued from previous pg.
31