Lung Cancer's Hidden Victims: Those Who Never Smoked

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From everyone at the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF), thank you for this article and bringing to your readers' attention that Anyone Can Get Lung Cancer, and No One Deserves It. I found this out when my best friend was diagnosed at stage IV in April 2009. I became the Director of Community Relations for BJALCF to help combat the stigma and to support research funding efforts. Bonnie Addario works every day for every Lung Cancer patient to educate them about what the best, most current Lung Cancer treatment options are. As Bonnie says, "Empowered patients live longer." Thank you again!
Nicolle Foland
Director of Community Relations
Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation

Nicolle of CA 4:15PM December 08, 2011

Well stated, Julie/

Gary of IL 2:35PM December 03, 2011

Another thought or slant on this could be just this....I'm a 33 year old female. I have NEVER smoked anything. I was brought up in a home of smokers, and for years both parents smoke. They smoked in the home, and in the car until I was in middle school. Then my parents quit smoking. However, the places we would eat at would have smoking sections. We would request a NON-smoking section. Every place we ate at - you would eventually come home smelling like smoke.
Perhaps SECOND hand smoke - Lung Cancer victims should be acknowledged. Lung Cancer just randomly appears in people that DO NOT smoke...yet we have ALL been PRISONER to SMOKERS our whole life. Let's keep it real. Those are facts and not my opinion. When is the LAST time a smoker, while smoking said to a non-smoker..Oh, sorry let me put out my cigarette. And how about those parents driving down teh road with nothing but a crack in their window smoking away with small children in teh car. Is this NOT going to effect us later in life? THINK AGAIN.

julie of VA 8:25AM December 03, 2011

Sorry, Katherine, but I have to disagree with your opinion of this article. My take on it is that the article stresses exactly what you are talking about – that lung cancer can occur to anyone regardless of whether they have ever smoked. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the 800lb gorilla in the room, that being smoking. Much like the citizens of this country being fed up with politicians who cannot work together, advocates of research need to leave their personal feelings at the door and work together to cure this abominable cancer. This means that non-smokers need to realize that the vast majority of lung cancer patients have a smoking past, and the smoking community needs to be aware of the growing number of non and never smokers now being diagnosed with this cancer. Any reporting about the lack of funding for lung cancer should be seen as a positive step, and should not be torn apart as your comment does. Your hyper-reaction to a positive article about lung cancer research is quite disheartening.

Gary of IL 5:50PM December 02, 2011

every time you mention someone's smoking history, even when you say "never smoked", you are perpetuating the smoking stigma and attributing to the Great Divide between those who had a smoking history and those who did not. How do you expect our lung cancer community to come together when you continue to do that? There are no hidden victims of lung cancer...EVERYONE diagnosed with lung cancer is a victim and there are some survivors that would actually take offense to that word entirely. Should I care more if someone never smoked? Should I care less if someone did smoke? No. The emphasis should be on the fact that ANYONE can get lung cancer, smoking or never smoking is NOT an issue. Advocates should be cause neutral in support of every patient and the fact that about 435 people are dying of this disease every single day is an epidemic and people need to care. 1 in 14 people will get it and it WILL affect them some day, so help us fund a cure....stop the Great Divide.... So sorry these never smokers got lung cancer...but it's articles like these that do more in terms of segregating this community rather than bring it together in a collaborative effort to make real changes.

Katherine of TX 9:46AM December 02, 2011