Reflections on Lung Cancer Awareness Month 2022

So, we all know that November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, but for me and the lung cancer community, it’s every day. Still, I do my part in November to bring awareness as much as possible.

Using my birthday as an opportunity to raise awareness

I like to start off and do a birthday fundraiser on Facebook and ask people on my friend list to donate to an organization I chose that year for lung cancer research. I try not to set a high amount, but an amount that is reasonable to reach. For me, any and every bit helps to go towards lung cancer research - plus, it’s a great birthday present for me!

Hosting a local panel for my community

This year I decided to do an event in my hometown to educate and bring awareness to my fellow residents. I partnered with my councilwoman in my district, and we did a panel discussion. I invited some of my local lung cancer sisters to participate and share their stories. My councilwoman asked us questions about lung cancer and living with it. I must say, it turned out to be a great panel discussion. My husband made sure he recorded it and spoke up about his perspective as a caregiver. It is very important to also talk about and include the caregiver and what they go through taking care of a loved one dealing with lung cancer.

Loteria for Lungs

Shortly after that I had my 2nd Annual Loteria for Lungs fundraiser. It was virtual on Facebook and it was with Mary Kay products, since I’m a Mary Kay Consultant.  Loteria is like a Mexican bingo. Last year I raised a little under $300 and my goal this year was to raise $500. I happy to announce that I reached that goal, and it was donated to ALK Positive for research!

Spreading my wings to different social platforms

I also took my story and facts about lung cancer on TikTok. TikTok is a great place to bring awareness and help others to understand lung cancer. It’s a great place to educate and stop the stigma and promote fundraisers, events, galas, walks, and share other information about lung cancer.  I’m not on TikTok to get famous and become a TikTok star, but I would love to be an influencer about lung cancer on TikTok. I also use TikTok to show my workouts and my headline is always something with lung cancer in it. I also continue to use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and at times LinkedIn.

I want to let the world know that WE MATTER TOO - and that not all cancers are pink! I want to show that just because you have an illness it shouldn’t stop you from achieving your goals or dreams. You can still live a healthy life even with an illness. I’m proof of that and I hope to give others hope along the way.