lung cancer blogger warriors

Lung cancer bloggers have a higher death rate than war correspondents but celebrities draw the media attention. 

I choose to lift my cup of morning coffee today to praise two fallen lung cancer blogger warriors.

Following my 4 month follow up CT Scan in July 2012 after lung cancer surgery, I decided to make some noise about lung cancer awareness and began blogging about my own lung cancer odyssey.

I began by googling/finding a list of people blogging about surviving lung cancer and posted links to them in my sidebar.

Somewhat like cyber neighbors the first to drop in and visit me was Teri Simon “a never-smoker with absolutely no family history of cancer.” Diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer in December 2009. Blog: A Flying Elephant Living in the Land of Lung Junk sent me a warm, welcoming email offering her phone numbers and after skimming through both My Lung Cancer Odyssey and my Caregivingly Yours, MS Spouse Caregiver blog offered, “Holy crap, man!  What you've been through and are going through! You should NOT have to journey this alone!!”

Battling lung cancer, Terri died 5 months later. A video of Teri Simon’s memorial service was posted on my birthday.

OK I confess a bias toward Doug White’s postings both on twitter @DougWhite5150  and his Facebook page, it’s a guy thing. Too few guys blog about trying to outlive lung cancer. I treasured his self-proclaimed “smartass” outlook while fighting off two cancers at once, our banter and his smiling face wearing ever changing headwear as chemo took his hair.

Doug mentored me early on “Yes Patrick...lots out there that makes us feel doomed from the start.  It all has to be ignored and you fight your own fight. Be careful using the word cure, there is none. I just caution people always about cure and "survivor" since it can come back and often does. Remission.”

Diagnosed in 2008 with Stage IV head and neck cancer Doug “overcame” it the following year before being diagnosed with Stage III Lung and Neck Cancer in 2012. “I'm late Stage 3B and we fully plan to beat it down.”

Battling cancer, Doug died on April 1st.

“Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.” 

Karl Van Clausewitz

They inspired me and my lung cancer odyssey, I miss them. Blogging from the front lines of the war on lung cancer our ranks do thin out. I pray if we all continue to make enough noise this trend may change.

Patrick Leer

Health Activist:

Caregivingly Yours, MS Caregiver @ http://caregivinglyyours.blogspot.com/

My Lung Cancer Odyssey @ http://lung-cancer-survivor.blogspot.com/

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