Oprah Gets the Word Out

A couple of friends pointed me to this article, What Non-Smokers Need to Know About Lung Cancer, in Oprah Magazine. Author Aimee Swartz makes an important point: anyone can get lung cancer, even people with crazy healthy lifestyles. It's not just a smoker's disease. I'm glad to see a mainstream publication addressing this reality of lung cancer. Perhaps as more of us come to understand that we are all at risk, more effort and funding will go toward finding a cure.

I'd also argue that anyone who has this disease, whether they are smokers, former smokers, or never smokers, deserves compassion and the chance to benefit from the best research and treatment available. I wish we lived in a world free from the predations of the tobacco industry. But we don't. It's an industry that preys on the young and the disenfranchised, an industry that deliberately creates  addictive, life-destroying products and markets them to the most vulnerable members of our society. Until that machine is destroyed, we'll need to continue to treat people who have tobacco-related cancers with the same dignity and care we are inclined to give never smokers. That is how we strive to end the stigma of this disease.

The March issue of Oprah has another feature on lung cancer. This one goes into some detail about treatment, especially the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which is the sort of treatment I am currently taking. It's a hopeful piece, and I'm glad this media queen is helping get the word out.