The Calendar Project

The Time For Living calendar will profile twelve people who have survived a diagnosis of lung cancer. It will show people in the midst of living their unique lives. If you would like to be considered for one of the 12 profiles, please contact us.

The calendar will be available through the Time for Living website. Proceeds will be used to fund programs that help to change public perception of lung cancer, and to sponsor research and programs for survivorship.

My personal experience made it very clear to me that lung cancer has an image problem. It’s the disease of the irresponsible smoker. If you have it, you “brought it on yourself” by smoking. Over 30 years of anti-smoking campaigns have had the added impact of creating a stigma of lung cancer. The stigma has created a landscape of guilt and shame for those diagnosed with the disease and their families. It is hard for people to support lung cancer programs because they feel the whole message about lung cancer is already out there, in the anti-smoking campaigns.

We need another message out there, a message of truth and compassion and reality. Lung cancer isn’t deadly because you smoked. It’s deadly because there’s no screening for it. It’s deadly because people who don’t smoke don’t think they can get it. It’s deadly because non-smokers don’t know the signs. It’s deadly because it’s underfunded for research. It’s deadly because young people don’t think they can get it. It’s deadly because people don’t know that breathing air pollution is the equivalent of smoking a pack a day.

The calendar project builds on my experience as a lung cancer survivor and as a marketing professional. The current image out there in the media doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t represent the stories of the courageous people I’ve come to know. It doesn’t tell the story of the many angry people who have lost a loved one to lung cancer. There is room for people to see another image, the new face of lung cancer.

Together we can take action to create a new story about lung cancer.

Changing Public Perception | The Future | Calendar Proofs 1, 2, 3