When I was still a teen, I met a lung cancer patient. My mom was a psychiatric volunteer at a cancer foundation, and I was with her as a volunteer. I was sitting in the corner, waiting for my mom to finish packing, when a man came up to me and shared his story.
He didn’t have a habit of smoking, but he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had been addicted to gambling and spent years inside casinos, where he was constantly exposed to secondhand smoke. His addiction went on for years until something happened that became his wake-up call. After that, he stopped gambling, started making amends with his family, and began a new life.
But just as he was finally living that new life, the cancer came and it became another challenge he had to face.
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I was only a teenager when I heard his story, but now that I’m an adult, I still carry it with me. His story became a powerful life lesson for me a lesson about life and health.
A reminder that lung cancer doesn’t only happen to smokers. Sometimes, it happens to people who spend years breathing in secondhand smoke without ever realizing the damage it can cause. His experience taught me how important it is to protect ourselves and the people around us from harmful environments, to take our health seriously, and to get checked when something feels wrong.
Awareness isn’t just information; it’s protection. Let’s take care of our lungs, our spaces, and each other.
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