Personal Stories

• Patient Voices: Pancreatic Cancer from the New York Times
• Radio story of a family which has suffered for generations from Pancreatic cancer

Charmaine Atkenson

Nonsmoker Charmaine Atkenson's Lung Cancer Story

When I was a little girl one of my favorite popular songs was The Impossible Dream from Don Quixote: Man of LaMancha. When I was diagnosed with stage iv lung cancer in September 2006 I thought, somewhat amusedly, what an appropriate favorite song it was.

My diagnosis at 46 years of age came from out of the blue. I was wife to my college sweetheart, mom to two beautiful daughters and an adorable Yorkshire terrier, active at my church and President of the PTO. I had never smoked, never lived with a smoker, or worked in a smoke-filled environment. More

Jim Mullin with his grandkids.

The Mullin Family Turns Pain into Action

Losing a loved one to cancer is a difficult experience for family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Turning grief into a vehicle for making a difference is what the Mullin family decided to do when they lost their beloved Jim, Marilyn’s husband and Steve’s father. Together with family members, they decided to hold the first annual James A. Mullin Golf Classic in Iowa in fall 2007 and the second in fall 2008. To date they have raised close to $13,000 for cancer early detection. More

Erin in Pink.

Erin Shoenberg's Illness and Death
written by her mother

My only child, Erin, was finally beginning to reach her dreams. At the age of 30, after sixteen years of working her way up in the Child care division on Tucson's Jewish Community Center, she had finally made "lead" of room 202. This means she was in charge of around twenty 4 year olds, responsible for teaching them and guiding them every day of each week. She was thrilled at this promotion; spent the weekend drawing up class plans; offering new adventures for the children in yoga, science and much more. Her self-esteem soared. More

Tom

Thomas G. Labrecque

In September of 2000, Thomas G. Labrecque was diagnosed with lung cancer and died eight weeks later. Tom never smoked and was in good health prior to his diagnosis. More

If you would like to share how early detection of cancer has affected you or your loved one, please email your story and a picture to info@canaryfoundation.org.