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Before July 2005, if someone had asked me what I knew
about lung cancer, I would have described it as a disease typically diagnosed in older people, particularly men, and in heavy
smokers. My description, I soon found out, was terribly wrong! And ignorance is NOT bliss! When my sister Linda was diagnosed
with Stage Four, non-small cell lung cancer in July 2005, my whole life changed. The days following her diagnosis, I spent
hours on the internet, absorbing every fact I could find about this killer, lung cancer. What I discovered stirred a wide
range of emotions: first, shock, followed by heartache, confusion, disbelief, fear, sadness, and, finally, anger.
Anger, an emotion I do not experience often, consumed
me. I felt furious with myself for my ignorance about this deadly disease! How could lung cancer be the number one cancer
killer each year, and I not know? How could more women die of lung cancer each year than breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer
combined; and I be oblivious? How could more men and women die of lung cancer each year than breast, ovarian, uterine, prostate,
and colon cancer combined, and I not hear about it? How could lung cancer kill so many people each year who have never smoked
or have just been social smokers? Why is so little talked about lung cancer when it kills over 160,00 people each year? My
anger rose with each statistic!
The weeks and months that followed became the shortest
four months of my life. Linda went through several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, only lessening her quality of life.
I watched as my sister fought bravely, unafraid to die, but determined to live! Then came her very painful death, the most
difficult time of all, watching her struggle for every breath up to the last.
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An amazing woman, Linda had attracted my admiration
her entire life; yet I could not change the tragic outcome. I felt so useless! But then I channeled my anger and grief, becoming
determined that my sister’s death would not be in vain and that in the future other families would be spared my own family’s
torment. Loving tennis, Linda and I had spent hours together in her den, watching tennis on television, disregarding the rest
of the family’s discontent with our obsession. So after Linda’s death, tennis seemed a natural fit to help raise awareness
about the deadly killer, lung cancer. Tracy Austin had been one of my sister’s favorite players, so we were thrilled when
Tracy agreed the first year to come to Ponte Vedra and serve as our Honorary Chairman and also participated in the Linda’s
Legacy Tournament of Love. Never did I dream that this tournament and other Linda’s Legacy Foundation events would bring such
success in raising Northeast Florida residents’ awareness of the pervasive danger of lung cancer. Such success, however, would
not have been possible without the love and support of many friends. Your support of the Linda’s Legacy Foundation has been
such a blessing to my family and our community! Together, we have impacted Northeast Florida with awareness about lung cancer,
and, with your help, we will
continue to make a difference!
God Bless,
Michelle Paul
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