Being Invisible: From Left-Handed Pencils to Lung Cancer Awareness
Lead with powerful love and advocacy.
Left-handedness is celebrated and accepted by society, with the uniqueness of left-handed individuals being visible and often embraced. However, lung cancer — the most prevalent form of cancer* — is an invisible adversary that lurks in the shadows, much like the left-handed experience. It is a lonely summit for those who have survived lung cancer, with a lack of support and funding for research weighing heavily on their hearts.
A Lonely Summit:
I recently attended a Lung Cancer Canada summit in Toronto, the first in-person event in a long time. Only twelve people attended in person, and I wasn't sure how many attended online, but the lack of turnout made it seem like almost nobody cared. 😢 The lack of support for lung cancer survivors is a concern, mainly since lung cancer research only receives a mere 7% of overall cancer funding in Canada.
However, spending millions of marketing dollars will not solve the lung cancer awareness problem.
The silent struggles start from within.
My advocacy for lung cancer awareness comes from my parents' battles with cancer. Losing my father to nasopharyngeal cancer at age five was a painful introduction to this fight.
When my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer nine years ago, I saw it as an opportunity to show love and care. But her struggle became invisible — the Chinese do not talk about cancer diagnosis, and almost nobody in our family knew about it.
Imagine a world where cancer whispers and love roars.
Over time, that silence transformed into a powerful bond — a love that defies the unspoken. Reconnecting with an old friend, both of our parents touched by lung cancer, led us to one of the world’s finest oncologists. Last year, my chosen family confronted the same challenge. I extended the bond and shattered the silence.
Our shared experiences weave us together. It feels like a calling—to break the silence and build a community where knowledge and wisdom flow freely.
Let’s be open, receptive to change, and unafraid to talk about lung cancer.
Along the way, I cried with tears. It broke my heart to see my mom suffer. But also, along the way, we grew, my career prospered, and her health improved.
Let’s break the silence and rewrite the narrative.
We can make this visible and embraced.
We wear our diagnosis with pride, defying expectations.
Judging from the photo below, no one would suspect that my mom lives with lung cancer. But appearances can be deceiving. Our strength lies in our openness and determination.
On June 1st, I will join the Give a Breath 5k walk at 10 a.m. in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, and Halifax.
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P.S. Some brilliant researchers in B.C. are building a community of gene analysis and using A.I. so it can help others and the world.
A newer branch of cancer analysis, personalized OncoGenomics, has significantly improved my mom’s quality of life. Think about a customized plan because of my mom’s uniqueness.
Researchers at B.C. Cancer in Vancouver is now working to develop a breath test that could help detect signs of cancer earlier and screen more people more quickly. Here’s a podcast.
See you next week.
*Source: Canadian Cancer Statistics 2023 (PDF)