How Tobacco-Related Diseases Have Huge Impacts on Families

Cancer, a word no one wants to hear but unfortunately, my family heard that word used about one of our beloved family members. Eight years ago my father was diagnosed with throat cancer caused by smoking at such a young age. When my father was in junior high he tried smoking, at this time he was only 13 years old in which he became addicted to cigarettes and this addiction lasted for many years. When he was diagnosed, I was only four years old, at the time I didn’t really know what was going on or what was exactly wrong. Once I started to get older the realness of what had happened started to kick in. Every day he had to go to the hospital to get radiation on his throat, thankfully this cured the throat cancer but, in the process, it also damaged one of his vocal cords. His voice would never be the same, it is a raspier sound and the damage to this vocal cord also makes it hard for him to swallow. Although my father went through all of these tough times he fought and won, his throat cancer was cured over eight years now! 

After the cancer was cured my family wanted to take this negative situation and make it positive. Personally, I wanted to inform myself about the dangers of tobacco and spread the word among my family, school and community. During my first year of middle school, I joined Raze, a club that educates people on the dangers of nicotine use. The next year I applied to be a Raze Ambassador, through this opportunity I have educated lots of people on the dangers of nicotine. Now, I work with almost four different advocacy groups, all of this work is a healthy outlet for me and is all fueled by my personal experiences with a nicotine-related illness. This is something that anyone can do, if someone you know is going through an illness of any kind you can educate yourself on how to help, this could save lives. If someone you know is battling addiction with nicotine, help them quit by learning the facts and getting involved with programs like Raze. This lets people know that you care and are trying. Even though we may go through troubling times, remember that there will always be a positive outcome no matter what!