These pops were created for the Lung Cancer Alliance which will have a TN presence in the very near future.
If you are like me, you tend to think of lung cancer as a disease that only strikes heavy smokers. In fact the only time I ever remember hearing of a non smoker getting lung cancer was when Dana Reeve was diagnosed several years ago.
I guess that what makes this story behind the cake pop so important and special to tell. You see, one of my very close friends was diagnosed in October of 2010 with stage 1A lung cancer. As she was (and still is) a lifelong non smoker, it was a shocking diagnosis. What turns out to be more shocking though was that, statistically speaking, 20% of all lung cancer diagnosis are in non-smokers. Add to that the 60% of diagnoses are in smokers who have quit at some point in their lives and finally 20% are smoking at the time of diagnosis. Add that up and nearly 80% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer are NOT smoking when they learn they have lung cancer.
That Jenny is alive to tell the tale is an amazing story in itself. One day while cleaning she mixed the wrong cleaning solutions together and inhaled so many fumes she had to get an x ray of her lungs. The x ray revealed a small 'spot' on her lungs. The doctors really didn't think much of it, but decided to monitor her with more x rays every few month. No changes occurred until the third x ray, which revealed the spot had grown. Not wanting to take any chances, they removing the spot (biopsied it and determined it was cancer) and then removed a portion of her right lung. She was so lucky. Most cancers like this aren't discovered until they advanced.
In Jenny's own words:
"I learned that more women will DIE from lung cancer than those with breast, cervical and ovarian cancers COMBINED. Lung cancer is the leading cause of all cancer deaths yet is the LEAST funded both at the grassroots level and the federal level. But it's the stigma of lung cancer that is the most horrific fact about the disease. Smoking is not the disease, lung cancer is the disease. No one deserves to die from lung cancer!!"
"I soon learned that there was NOT a pink army to join, that lung cancer survivors and fighters mostly suffer alone. This is why I am so excited to bring Lung Cancer Alliance - TN chapter to Nashville. "Our mission is to lead the movement to reverse decades of stigma and neglect by empowering patients, elevating awareness and changing health policy".
Again in Jenny's own words: "To thank Lung Cancer Alliance for trusting me and all those who want to join me to make the mission real in Tennessee, I thought it a brilliant idea to send them a Welcome To Tennessee basket from Party Pops by Julie!!"
I am so grateful to be a small but sweet part of LCA's mission in Tennessee and even more glad that today, two years post diagnosis,....Jenny is cancer FREE!!
