Relay for Life Meeting

I attended the Relay for Life meeting yesterday and it was amazing (as always). I learned a lot, as I usually do :)

At the end of the meeting, they were showing us how our money goes to help the American Cancer Society with research. They brought in these lung models (which are used to educate children and adults about the dangers of smoking). One lung was pink and healthy, the other was black and had nodules all over it. It was pretty scary! Then there were these jars...one was filled with this tarish substance and the other had greenish stuff (which I found out was flem..ew!) But the tarish jar was filled quite high and the question was, "how many cigarettes would you have to smoke for a whole year to get this effect in your lungs?" It was only half a pack a day!! Then the flem in the jar was how much flem a smoker coughs up in a year! I have never smoked anyway, but after seeing that, I really clenched the NO SMOKING policy! My grandma died from lung cancer and I can only imagine her lungs must've looked similar :( It was a sad truth.

If you go to http://www.cancer.org/, you can look up all different types of cancer. Take a swing by the lung cancer sections and check them out. You will see different diagrams and get a picture of what lung cancer really is.

But just in case you don't check out the website...I will share a picture with all of you...

If you know someone who smokes, please help them quit. If you smoke, please quit. NO ONE is immune to lung cancer! I have lost my grandma to stage 4 lung cancer. Don't go around thinking you are superman (or superwoman)...your lungs will look like that as well, if they don't already. Also, by your smoking, you are putting other people in danger. Just put it out, walk away from the cigarette and NEVER look back!

If you need more help to quit smoking, I urge you to go to the American Cancer Society's website: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Guide_for_Quitting_Smoking.asp?from=fast

Thank you for reading xo