Jill Feldman, Lung Cancer Patient and Advocate, Co-Founder of EGFR Resisters, shared a post on X:
“My friend Gina Hollenbeck was a fierce lung cancer advocate – kind, smart, funny, and unafraid to challenge her own narrative. In her powerful The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). WCLC2021 talk, Gina explains why she stopped leading her story with “I didn’t smoke.”
While many feel this pushes back against stigma, she realized the binary approach of guilt and innocence slows progress and perpetuates a harmful narrative that is profound and far-reaching. Using the stigma to try to erase it only continues to label us, reduce our humanity, and our identity becomes a single story.
Let’s talk about RISK FACTORS. That’s when people ask questions and listen! Since Dana Reeve’s diagnosis, I’ve seen how focusing only on people who “never smoked” divides our community and completely erases the person behind the disease.
The truth is simple:
NO ONE earns lung cancer, and NO ONE deserves it. Gina’s message calls us back to compassion, understanding, and respect. Please listen and help change the conversation.”
Drew Moghanaki, Professor, Chief of Thoracic Oncology at the Department of Radiation Oncology and Stanley Iezman and Nancy Stark Endowed Chair in Thoracic Radiation Oncology Research at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Chief Medical Officer of Respirati, shared a post by Jill Feldman, on X, adding:
“I’m so glad you posted this. Gina taught me the same: to care deeply about ALL people affected by lung cancer, especially since those who smoked are victims of the tobacco industry and need our empathy for being addicted by callous, profit-minded corporations and their shareholders.”
More posts featuring Drew Moghanaki and Jill Feldman on OncoDaily.