Cancer story was touching

Dear editor,

It tugged at my heart when I read Erin Burden's write up last week (Relay for Life: Time to reflect). I knew her dad and his wonderful voice. He was a great guy, and he sure loved that kitty down at the flower shop.

Her story reminded me of our journey when my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his brain. Such difficult memories made worse each time I have seen a young person smoking now.

Seeing that makes me so terribly sad every time I see it. When my dad started smoking, the tobacco companies hadn't fully disclosed the health risks that cigarettes could cause.

People now know exactly what can happen when they choose to smoke, but many can't stop, because of the addiction that occurs. I have seen former students of mine who are around 14 to 16 years old smoking, and when I have told them, "my dad died of lung cancer from smoking, so I wish you'd stop," they have replied, "we're so sorry that he died," and continue to smoke. It breaks my heart every time, because they must think that lung cancer will never happen to them. Unfortunately, I know otherwise.

I hope that me calling a spade a spade (to my former students who smoke) about the real life dangers of smoking will plant a tiny seed in their young minds, so that some day they will try to stop. If they do, perhaps they won't be another lung cancer statistic in the future.

— Kenda Schroeder, Elmore County Relay For Life volunteer