August 1 is World Lung Cancer Day. This year’s focus is about highlighting new lifesaving advancements in lung cancer.
Once she came to terms with her cancer diagnosis, Przybyla began telling her coworkers. “The first thing I got from most people is, ‘I didn’t know you smoked!’ or ‘Did you smoke?’” she says. “People are implying that you brought it on yourself. It shouldn’t matter if I smoked or not. You don’t get that question if you have other types of cancer.”
Fernandez says that she “hates” the smoking question because she’s “not proud of the fact that I smoked.” But she was also “really proud” of herself for quitting. “It’s just so discouraging because everybody blames this disease on the person that has it,” she says. “I know I don’t get as much sympathy as the people who have breast cancer and yet I’m way more likely to die of my disease.”