Absence Makes the Heart Grow Finder

Mark Twain once said, “The rumors of my death are have been greatly exaggerated.” I guess that, as a writer, Mark Twain also had long absences.   I am told that people have been wondering what happened to me, since I have not written an article for the newspaper lately.

I am still very much alive and actively advocating for lung cancer.  I have not been submitting columns because, frankly, I ran out of things to say. After writing 180,000 words about the under-funding of lung cancer and the unfairness of how cancer research dollars are allocated, I started to sound like a broken record.  I was afraid people would lose interest in the substance of my message.  “If you have nothing to say, say nothing” is another Samuel Clements pearl.

When I originally started writing back in 2007, I was fairly convinced I was about to die.  I had a lot I wanted to say.  It was obvious that lung cancer has not had a fair shake in terms of getting research funding.  But as time moved on and my imminent death became exceedingly extended, I had less and less to say.  Time was on my side again.  Facing what I thought was certain death brought out raw emotions from which my writing and advocacy benefited.  But after a while those emotions faded.  For me, life once again became normal. There was no longer a looming personal crisis I needed to write about.

Today I am writing at the urging of a seventy-something woman, a former smoker. She was recently diagnosed with early stage lung cancer that has been successfully treated.  She says she has a very good prognosis.  She saw articles I had written about lung cancer screening last fall and talked to her doctor.  She had also seen advertising about low-dose CT screening for lung cancer. A few weeks ago, she reached out to tell me that my efforts saved her life. She urged me to continue writing. 

The Talmud says that “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” Of course I want to do more to save more lives! The question is how?  What more is there to say?

Anyone who know me knows I ALWAYS have something to say. In fact, people have a hard time getting me to shut up long enough to get a word in edgewise. It’s a personality flaw that I can readily admit to and not so readily correct. It’s the reason why writing is such a good outlet for someone like me.  It allows me to say what is on my mind without interruption.  The plan for this space going forward is to write about things happening daily in my life that may give hope and inspiration to others who are dealing with cancer or any other disease or personal crisis. 

If you don’t know anything about my background or why I started writing in the first place, let me provide a re-cap:

On October 5^th 2007, at the age of 52, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIA Adenocarcinoma (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer).  I had an inoperable tumor in the upper posterior of my right lung that was approximately nine centimeters in size – about as big as a baseball.  The tumor has spread to the lymph nodes in the central chest and almost into my left lung. It was impinging on the central vena cava that supplies blood to the brain and it was entirely possible that I would have a stroke or worse if some kind of intervention wasn’t done immediately.

My doctors quickly determined that this cancer was inoperable.  I set upon a course of treatments that would last five years. 

As I began reflecting about what I had accomplished in my life, I prayed that God would grant me the time to re-dedicate the rest life to helping others. I felt that I had wasted precious time for most of my life.  I did not want to die having accomplished nothing of substance. I wanted to leave some lasting legacy.   

I began to write about my life and life lessons for the sake of my children and grandchildren.  That has now extended to my readers. I hope you find my thoughts about living a meaningful life worth reading. My goal is to inspire you to do more to change the world and become an inspiration to others.