<p>Oh - I am here, just a very long day, I started to write a post three hours ago and have been on the phone ever since. Padad, unfortunately I am classified at the extensive stage, however, long term remission is still possible, but, getting there is going to be one extraordinary fight, as the statics are grim. This requires quite a battle, and so a very ferocious battle we shall have. I am very, very grateful for prayers. I will need every one of them and this will not go well without God’s help.</p>
<p>I am gratified for the thoughtfulness of so many and am surprised and almost overcome by the desire to give money to this cause. I have a few thoughts, not necessarily valid or accurate, but, here is what I think:</p>
<p>If I had $500 to donate, I would give it to an organization who helps people directly. I am now 30 days into this diagnosis, and still lack the knowledge to be able to say if donations to support research for lung cancer will be of much help, but I suspect it will not help and might even be a waste of money AT THIS POINT; here’s why: first, even if the research dollars were plentiful, the brain trust, the brilliant scientists, the relentless researchers would need to actually do the work, and apply their minds to the problem. </p>
<p>I don’t see that happening. I don’t see it happening primarily because lung cancer doesn’t “sell”. It doesn’t market well. It’s not a career builder. It’s not like breast cancer, or some of the cancers that afflict young children. It doesn’t have pink ribbons, awareness months, 5 K runs for the cure, etc. And overwhelmingly, small cell in particular is - according to everything I’ve read - self inflicted. Yes, there are people who get this who do not smoke cigarettes. I’m one of them. But the overwhelming majority who do get this have smoked at some time in their lives. And - I wonder if you can imagine this - I just got off the telephone with a long term survivor of this (11 years, very unusual) - and - she STILL SMOKES. She did quit for a year or two but then went back to smoking cigarettes. She wasn’t even embarrassed to tell me that she still smokes. So this isn’t a cancer that wins a lot of sympathy. How anyone could possibly come through lung cancer and get into remission and then smoke cigarettes is just simply incomprehensible to me. So is it reasonable to hope and expect that highly paid, brilliant researchers and those on the forefront of finding cures to spend their life’s work on something that the majority of inflicted do to themselves? </p>
<p>The reality is, if people would stop smoking cigarettes, small cell lung cancer would mostly go away, according to all of the literature I’ve read. There would still be a very small number of cases of nonsmokers being diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, but, those persons would then be sort of in a category like my DEA friend’s daughter: in a cancer population where the numbers are so low that it’s not profitable enough for big pharma or researchers to bother with doing anything about it. Their time is far more productively spent trying to find solutions for cancers that kill larger populations of people. And I am sure it is more rewarding for them as well. </p>
<p>So I am not sure that donating money for research is going to help. I am not sure what to suggest and I simply do not know enough right now to offer any intelligent suggestions. </p>
<p>I do think though that God ultimately has this in His hands. I am very grateful for prayer and very deeply, sincerely thankful for all who have reached out to me and if I have any request at all to make of anyone here it is for continued prayers.</p>