PATRICE'S PERSPECTIVE
By Patrice Bumstead
General Manager of McKenzie County Media LLC
Farmer Editor
There are many awareness causes in the month of November, but one in particular, is close to my heart. Lung Cancer Awareness or White Ribbon Month. Did you know that most people diagnosed with this type of cancer do not show symptoms in its early stages?
According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the second leading cancer death in both women (the first being breast cancer) and men (the first being prostate cancer) in the United States. In 2022 alone, the number of persons newly diagnosed with either Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) or Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) is estimated at 236,740. And an estimated 130,180 people will have died from the disease throughout 2022.
Research shows that one in 15 men and one in 17 women will develop lung cancer in their lifetime. For me, those numbers are terrifying, especially when I take into consideration my small group of close friends and family. Using those statistics at least four of the people in my life that I love will come face-to-face with lung cancer at some point.
And like most cancers, they will have to endure countless tests and procedures to obtain their diagnosis. They will become overwhelmed with fleeting thoughts filled with nothing but doom. They will get up each day and wonder if they will receive word of their “staging” from their team of doctors, or if there are still more tests to be done. They will have questions about their disease, most of which will continue to grow and feel unanswered. They will struggle with who to tell, for fear of being a burden or causing emotional harm.
What I have learned is that a person going down this unfathomable path will need a strong tribe of people to help them cope, understand, listen, laugh, cry and fight with them. Their faith will be tested with each new day.