Deb Smith does not like what she just enjoy when she and fill as much laughter might think. She does not dwell on the negative and spiritually a funny list, she said the benefits of IV lung cancer, one of the reasons.
"Smith joked:" Hello people really. "You get a free cleaning service. Should I continue ..."
Seabrook Elementary School special education teacher, said she has been like to see a glimmer of hope, even found humor as uninteresting things such as cancer. Although she never smoked a cigarette in her 59-year-old life, Smith was diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2011.
One of the reasons she hopes to share her story is not the last to make a speech, but the stigma surrounding the disease broke.
"This is a disease, and is looking at you cause yourself, this is not always the case," Smith said. "The non-smokers can get it."
According to the American Lung Association, this year there are 160,340 Americans die from the disease, 18% of the people lit a cigarette.
However, the disease looked a smoker disease, Smith said, lung cancer research funding significantly behind other more "popular" cancers.
Smith said, to find out you have cancer is devastating, but it does not mean you have to put the white flag.
Smith said, this is not positive, especially when she was first diagnosed last year.
"When you first hear the words, you just feel totally do not believe," Smith said.
If she is a smoker, her doctor may order a chest scan after she first went to the hospital complaining about shortness of breath and a persistent cough.
On the contrary, her doctor thinks she has asthma, and it just did not respond to the drug, she ended perform chest X-rays, and then through the CT scan.
The tests show that her right lung, which is a lump the size of an orange. The cancer has spread to her lymph nodes in her left hip joint disease.
One of the problems, she said, very few people suffering from the symptoms of lung cancer until it was too late.
"My doctor said, the good news is that I'm young, healthy, and then I stopped there, she said:" A healthy, you just said that I have stage IV lung cancer, "Smith said.
"But she refers to the fact that I do not smoke, my lungs in good condition, although there is a mass the size of an orange."
Others do, after they discovered she had cancer?
Smith said she got a beauty and massage, the depressed four or five days, and then picked it up.
"What can I do," Smith said. Complain, complain is useless. "
So far, Smith has responded well to the treatment, called Tarceva daily doses of oral chemotherapy drug, and in the quality of her lung cancer has shrunk by 80%.
Currently, she is participating in clinical trials in Boston, Dana - Farber Cancer Institute, to see how long the drug can prevent the spread of cancer. However, as predicted, her cancer has begun to grow again. If substantial growth, she will have to start a different form of treatment.
Smith said she tried to keep a positive attitude, and keep her day-to-day work, as much as possible, including special education teachers to continue.
She has been a teacher for more than 20 years into the industry, through her son, Asperger syndrome.
"I started my son's school volunteer service, and found that this is what I want to do," Smith said.
She said, Seabrook School District, has been very understanding.
"I feel pretty good most days," Smith said. "I have learned a life of drug side effects, including skin irritation, dry and infections, diarrhea and fatigue."
The side effects that she did not expect to do her hair. What is straight hair has now turned into a flower.
"I never curls, so this is a kind of strange," Smith said. "It's like I'm another person's hair growth on my mind."
Although she is single, her extended family of brothers and sisters to step up to help her, including a sister, who took her to Boston once a month date, Smith said.
Family was terrified, she said: "sister, Elizabeth McGovern. "But deb is so strong, we have to help her fight."
Her friends have also strengthened the help and support.
An Jiba policy Deb said, her friends and colleagues is an inspiration.
She was called stage IV lung Deb, the new Deb, "joked her orders, she feels like her favorite fried lobster tail.
Her spirit and outlook on life is amazing, "said Pakistani policy.
"In the past year, as my friend, and I laughed more and more reflected prayer and learn more."
Smith said she did not know exactly what causes cancer, but she suspected. Her parents are smoking around her second-hand smoke for 18 years.
Her mother died of emphysema.
"I think my mother would be really sad to see this happening," Smith said.
Smith said her focus to create new memories of her time in her friends and family, including her son Graceland Christmas.
"He likes Elvis," Smith said. "I'm afraid of flying, but now ... I said:" Let's go. ""
Smith said, because she was diagnosed new motto is "seize the day".
This is a motto, she tried to live her life, whether it is to spend a year bike across Europe, lived in Alaska five years, or a son, because she is not yet married.
But now the motto has more meaning.
Smith said her know what's going on, but she was not yet ready, until she thinks.
Humor, she said, is a coping mechanism.
"When I was a joke, it is easy person to me," Smith said. "I always joke that I am waiting for my next appointments, to see if I update, magazine subscriptions, my AAA card.
"But I look at it the way I have come here today, life is pretty good, I feel OK most days, I have the ability to take what might be or what will happen, and put it in there, without having to worry about it, until I had to do, I think this is what kept me going, because I'm not sitting here thinking about it every day. "
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