Making a Small Splash

When I started blogging, I really did not think I was going to live more than a year. I was in a hurry to write and leave some kind of written statement about my life. As my treatment has progressed and as a result of having a robust response, I have had less of a need to write. Ergo, I have become less and less diligent about writing every day.

My column in the Charlotte Sun, which is based on entries in this blog, is being noticed. I had a lady write to me today Her message read as follows:

Hi Tom,

Let me start by saying you are the first section of the paper I read every Sunday morning since you started writing your column. Like you, I have stage IIIA Lung Cancer. For the same reasons you started out with, I have chosen not to share my condition with others because I don't want to lose their business and right now I am
very able to do my job. No one would know I have cancer.

Besides thanking you for sharing your experience with others, I'd like to ask you who your caring Dr. Steve is and where you went for your radiation treatment. I am currently being treated up at Moffitt, and I am scheduled for a PET scan on 2/3 because it appears that my cancer may have traveled to several enlarged lymph nodes. Radiation will be my next course of treatment, and I don't want to travel to Tampa for it. I'd really appreciated you giving me your impressions of your treatment here (I live in Punta Gorda). I have a friend who works as a nurse at Florida Cancer Center and she told me she has seen patients who have had radiation with some serious burn issues.

Thank you again for sharing. I look forward to your response.

Mary

Nearly every week someone is calling me or contacting me with regard to the column. A lady from Louisiana called me recently as she is being sent my column each week from a relative in Punta Gorda. She read that I was collecting Miro's artwork and had one to offer me. The week before that I spoke with a woman who was very distraught over the fact that her 35 year old son (never smoked) has been diagnosed with Stage IV Small Cell Lung Cancer. We spoke by phone for over an hour.

I have been invited to speak to support groups, Rotary Clubs, and other local organizations. In late November Jeff Collins invited me to join him on the radio to speak about lung cancer and the need for research dollars. Last Wednesday I went before our State Legislative Committee (two State Senators and three representatives) to suggest that, if Florida is going to increase the tobacco tax, that some of those dollars be used for research into the screening and early detection.

Finally, Scott Lunin contacted me to say that he would like me to help Florida Cancer Specialists campaign for lung cancer awareness. Of course I said yes...although at this point I am not sure about what exactly is going to be involved.

I always have a lot going on, but if I am going to continue my Sun Column, I need to keep adding to the blog, so you can expect to see more entries. Its nice to see something coming from the effort I am making. I am hoping we can make an even bigger splash and get something done on the lung cancer reseach side.