Friends,
I've got something exciting going on, and I need your help. We, meaning the American Lung Association with the help of some fellow survivors and some health care professionals, are putting on a conference under the "Lung Force Expo" banner. I will be leading one of the sessions for survivors, titled "Being Your Own Advocate." I will be sharing my own stories of some of things that Genevieve and I have done that have helped keep me alive. I will also include stories from as many other survivors (you!) as possible, so the survivors who attend get a really great cross-section of ideas of ways that they can use to improve their chances of survival. By sharing your stories, you will be empowering others to find ways to stay alive!
To give you an idea, some of the examples that I will be using include the hoops that I jumped through to get into a clinical trial that my oncologist didn't even know about, which is a thousand miles from my home; switching doctors when my oncologist's office was unresponsive after my cancer grew; and Genevieve's advocacy to get my oncologist to start me on a med without waiting for insurance approval (http://www.dannwonser.com/blog/2011/09/chemo-update-its-about-love-september.html).
I have gathered a few other examples from survivors over the years, but not nearly enough. I need your stories! You can tell me in two sentences, or write a full two-page story about your experience. It will be anonymous, unless you specifically give your permission to use your name. You will be helping other survivors to become better advocates for themselves.
Don't worry about whether your example meets any kind of criteria. If you saw it as advocating for yourself, that sounds pretty good to me. Chances are it is better than you think for someone just starting out with cancer.
Let's give them everything we've got, and empower them!
Thank you,
Dann