State of Emotions -- What's Next?

Tonight I came home from another busy day, turned on the TV and started watching “The Biggest Looser.” It is not something I normally watch, but I am fascinated by how the show creates drama and emotion. If you think about it, a bunch of overweight people trying to lose weight should not be the stuff of high drama. Yet somehow the show titillates and keeps you engaged by implicitly asking “what happens next?” That question is what keeps life interesting in general.

Last week at this time Yoko and I were watching the election returns. We were not surprised at the outcome. The people were speaking and you would have to be hard of hearing not to understand what they were saying. Still, we’re looking forward to seeing what happens next. Every day a little bit more of the unfolding political drama is revealed. I love it!

I think a lot about how lucky I am to be alive to enjoy life’s happenings. I appreciate mundane everyday things more than I ever did. On my daily morning walks with the dog I think about the wonder of nature and how incredibly improbable life is. Life will come to an end for us all – one way or another. But what a gift we have to be alive and conscious and wondering every day, what happens next!

Yoko and I went north over the weekend to participate in the Free to Breathe 5K Run/Walk in Ponte Verde Beach organized by my friend and fellow survivor, Julia Stroud. They had over 800 participants and raised more than $130,000 for lung cancer research. Julia was overcome with emotion as she addressed the crowd, including our friend Mary, a Stage IV survivor now battling multiple metastases to the brain. Mary’s having a hard time as do many lung cancer patients as they near the end stages of the disease. I share Julia’s emotion.

After we returned from Jacksonville I received a moving letter from a woman who’s been reading this column each week. Her father, a WWII veteran, fought a three year battle with lung cancer and lost six years ago. She’s not gotten over her loss. Her description of the pain and suffering he endured brought tears to my eyes. No one should have to endure such indignities.

I’ve been collecting the names of people who have died of lung cancer --residents, friends or relatives of people who live in Charlotte County. Sadly I have over 70 signs to be displayed at this year’s “Mile of Memories” walk. I attended the Board of County Commissioner’s meeting to receive a proclamation declaring November 13th Lung Cancer Awareness Day. As the proclamation was read, I thought of all the people I know personally who are fighting this disease and became unexpectedly emotional.

Advocating for lung cancer lead me to writing to NBC Nightly News at the end of October when on a single news broadcast they had two lengthy stories about the fight against breast cancer. I wrote to complain bitterly that in 10 years I had not seen a single story on lung cancer, the number one cancer killer. To my surprise, Robert Bazell, the Chief Health and Science Correspondent for NBC News, replied immediately. My complaint apparently got his attention. He said that he alone had done 24 stories in the past five years. He acknowledged that “one could argue that 24 stories in five year are not enough for the number one cancer killer.” I agree.

Call it coincidence, but two days later NBC Nightly News’ top story was about the results of a clinical trial showing that low-dose CT scan may offer a clinically acceptable way to screen for lung cancer. That’s a real breakthrough – both the trial results and the news story. I’ll be curious to see what happens next.