My Mom’s Lung Cancer Rant and SU2C’s Response

September 16, 2010 by in National Spotlight, SU2C

Here is SU2C’s lung cancer bit that has my mom, and many others, fuming.

Here is my mom’s email to SU2C:
Leslie Lehrman sent a message using the contact form at
http://su2c.standup2cancer.org/contact [1].

This was the worst program I have ever seen. I have stage 4 Lung Cancer
AND never smoked. This was all about show and not cancer. There was no
need for the funny stuff or people singing. It was a terrible distraction
and you couldn’t even hear what was being said. The Lung Cancer segment was beyond words.

momscarf My Moms Lung Cancer Rant and SU2Cs Response

I was truly insulted about the stupid jerk singing with
a black and white lungs there and so were so many others. It’s not a joke
and it’s not funny.
And when are you going to quit associating the
smoking stigma with it??? 60% of newly diagnosed LC patients have never
smoked or quit decades ago. Smoking is not good for any disease not just
LC and I’m getting sick of it. Lung cancer is the number 1 cancer killer
with all the other major cancers combined and the least funded. Where
will your 100% donations for research go…..to the dream team doctors?
And how big a piece of the pie will go to Lung Cancer? I think I know the
answer to that. Anyone who has an association with the ACS is not
trustworthy and I will never donate a penny to any of you.

su2c logo My Moms Lung Cancer Rant and SU2Cs Response

Here is SU2C’s email response:

Dear Leslie,

Thank you for contacting Stand Up To Cancer.

We sincerely apologize that you were offended by an element of the
September 10th Stand Up To Cancer telecast. Our intent was to raise
awareness, engage the public and to ask for donations for
critically-needed cancer research. We are acutely aware that to appeal
to many age groups and the diverse populations throughout the nation,
and the 195 countries in which the telecast aired, we needed to make the
appeal to the public as broad and inclusive as possible. We’re sensitive
to the issues that arise when discussing cancer; in fact, our show
writers include cancer survivors.

Taking that into account, we know that dealing with and talking about
cancer involves many emotions, including having a sense of humor.
Overcoming some of the most challenging things in life, including
contending with cancer, requires lightness of heart to lift spirits and
engender the type of positive attitude needed for the fight against this
insidious disease.

This year through music, public service announcements, in baseball
stadiums, on PlayStation, and even in an Xbox music video, we have
appealed to young and old, to realize that every individual counts in
the battle to beat cancer, and WE can CHANGE THE ODDS to win it. We take
the topic of cancer very seriously, and we hope our efforts will lift
us, and one another, to unite in both profound and joyful ways to move
forward, to one day live in a world free of cancer.

We value your opinion, and appreciate you taking the time to convey it
to us.

Sincerely,

Paul
Stand Up To Cancer

Your Thoughts!

So, what did YOU think of how SU2C (Actors Eric Stonestreet and Jim Parsons) highlighted lung cancer? What did you think of SU2C’s response? What parts of the overall show did you like – or didn’t like?

No related posts.

44 Comments - Leave a comment!
  • Stephanie Tayman

    That's the exact same form letter that quite a few Inspire friends received. Sickening.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=573160316 Dan Tanaka

    Stand Up 2 Cancer has a nice way of saying “F*** OFF!”

  • Kelekia1

    I was appalled! I am a survivor of lung cancer and let me tell you it is no joke!! I'm sure that they wouldn't be singing like that if it were them. Lung cancer is the #1 killer of people! It is not something to joke about. Get real! Then maybe we could get some real funding for this killer disease!

  • Richard Leutzinger,Jr.

    That skit wasn't funny it was just plain sicking and done in horrible taste and that letter was nothing but a joke !

  • survivor

    I thought the show was great. I cried thru the whole thing. I am a breast cancer survivor along with myolder sister. Our mother passed away from lung cancer after a brave battle. I think the point of this show was that ALL cancers are important, not just one. I find it sad that someone is so negative with such an illness. That can't help. Also, my mother was never in pain. The Drs made sure of that. They said there are enough drugs out there that no one should have to suffer.

  • Ahmenard

    Personally, I don't care if the skit was funny, sad, shameful or whatever…if it got in donations to an organization that is going to put a priority on lung cancer research, they can do whatever kind of skit they please. But I am still waiting to know how much funding is being done for LC research through SU2C, esp. compared to other types of cancer like the almighty breast. Just answer that.

    What I did find offensive was that EVERY TIME lung cancer was mentioned, so was cigarettes…these are not mutually exclusive things and this kind of broadcasting only adds to the misperception of this disease. I was bitterly disappointed by this.

  • Annie

    Jen & Leslie .. I find this letter to be extremely rude & condescending!! Basically they are saying too bad you have no sense of humour wqhich I find insensitive to Leslie. I know that it has taken a great deal for me on my journey through being diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable lung cancer. It has taken : anger, tears, depression, denial, fear, truth, smiles, hugs, love,reality, & yes laughter!! We are all human & we all feel these things particularly when you are told you have any kind of cancer ! I feel insulted reading this letter & it was not written to me .. SU2C needs to be told that humour has it's place but it was not where they put it … & they obviously do not care about Lung Cancer to treat it in the way that this show did!

  • Ashley

    I wasn't a fan of this at all. If he had to sing, mention that there are those with lung cancer who can't even gather enough breath to do so. Emphasize that it impairs the simple action of breathing. Or laughing. Or walking and talking. There's a way to use humor to bring a point across, but here it's distracting.

  • Slptomma

    It was very inappropriate… especially for those of us who are lung cancer survivors… please try to get the right message out there. Would you do that same funny bit about breast cancer? I doubt it… I can live without my boobs but I can't live without my lungs.

  • http://twitter.com/jaye_girl Jaye B

    First, let me say i did NOT watch the show, I haven't been impressed with this organization. The letter did NOT answer your mother's questions and is condescending and patronizing but even more so when written to a person who has cancer. Uniting in “profound and joyful” ways will not get us to a cancer-free world. We need serious funds across all types of cancer, not just the “popular” types. All cancer deserves attention, but the fact that the number one killer, more than all other types combined, cannot/does not get the attention/funding has to say a lot for the state of so-called awareness initiatives by these entities that declare themselves the way to get that done…

  • Phshleach

    I was very dissappointed with the whole program. It left a lot to be desired.

    On top of that, the letter your mother received was the very same one many people on Inspire received. The wording was the same and it shows just how they pay attention to our thoughts and worries. I am really frustrated with the whole organization.

    A 3 1/2 year lung cancer suvivor,

    s leach

  • http://twitter.com/maggielmcg maggielmcg

    I think this reply is horrible–basically telling a person with cancer she needs to have a sense of humor about cancer. F that. And horrible that apparently this was the same form message they sent to others. Way to go with actually being touched by your mom's really good, poignant, well thought out message to them.

    This is what depresses about big-name cancer awareness campaigns like SU2C, Komen, etc–it's just business to a lot of them. It makes people feel good to say they're working to end cancer–but how much of that money actually goes to cancer research or patients and how much goes to overhead or salaries or what have you?

    Kudos to you for working tirelessly to raise awareness about this–I've learned so much from you about lung cancer. My grandma died of it–years after she'd quit smoking.

    And excellent point Slptomma–you can live without breasts but not lungs.

  • Melanie

    I thought the lung cancer segment could have been presented in a serious manner rather than a comic skit. It is clear and it is obvious that any form of cancer is not a laughing matter. And, you don't have to smoke or have smoked in order to have this terrible disease. I wonder how much money actually goes to the funding and research for cancer vs. the amount of money lining the pockets of the elite medical teams????????

  • Beth

    Jen, I was ok with them using the concept of humor (although it really wasn't even funny..”everybody Wang Lung tonight”, huh?), the prop lungs, whatever….but their statistics seem WAY off and again….the smoking & lung cancer link was the first thing mentioned, right out of the gate. So it's then just easier for everyone watching to dismiss lung cancer if they aren't smokers, right? “Not gonna happen to any of us that don't smoke and/or if you smoke, then you deserve it”. SU2C made it too easy to dismiss lung cancer yet again.

    • teacherN

      And Beth, I WAS one of those who sorta dismissed lung cancer cuz my mom smoked, but I never did. Sooooo, my breast cancer was no real surprise, but my lung cancer was. We soooooo need to get the word out that No One is safe from lung cancer's beastly grip. Thank you, thank you. And please forgive my former ignorance. Wow, I know now….
      xo TeacherN

  • Denise

    I to was very upset by the skit. I contacted SU2C and I received the same letter that is posted above. What a joke. I then responded to that letter with some not so nice comments and below is a copy of the reply I received to that email.

    Dear Denise, We wholeheartedly agree that more research is needed on lung cancer, andare happy to report that the Stand Up To Cancer Epigenetics Dream Teamis making encouraging progress against this disease. This team hastested a combination of drugs in preliminary, phase I clinical trialsand saw tumors shrink in a group of small cell lung cancer patients whohad previously been treated, unsuccessfully, with three differentchemotherapy regimens. The Dream Team is enrolling patients in the firstphase II clinical trial of epigenetic drugs for solid tumors to confirmand build on these results. In addition, the Circulating Tumor Cell ChipDream Team is developing a robust technology that has the potential forimprovements in early detection, prognosis and therapy in a variety ofcancers, and is using two types of lung cancer in its investigations. The need to fund cancer research continues to be a great one. Thisdisease touches everyone, and the search for a cure will also affectevery one of us in some way. Once again, thank you for reaching out to Stand Up To Cancer. Sincerely, JillianStandUp2Cancer.org

    I think this might cover the Dream Team issue.

    Denise

  • Had Enough

    Hey this is Hollywood… Bay-Bee. If these guys gave a hoot about lung cancer we'd already know about it…Not gonna happen. Looks like they're in bed together with American Cancer Society. They're no fools-They'll go where the $$$ is.

    Pee-yuke-It's a waste of time appealing to these exploitative glory hounds.

    Between STUC and ACS– the public is brainwashed & bled dry and we wonder WTF???

    Not even crumbs left over for “other” cancers.

  • teacherN

    As a breast cancer and lung cancer survivor, I am offended by humor like “Save the Tatas” and the silliness about lung cancer. Ok, I never smoked, and I had lung cancer. No more blaming! No more “Save the Tatas!” SAVE the WOMEN! Save the people!
    We are all in this together. All of us. All of us. Be tender, please, SU2C. Please.
    Hugs,
    TeacherN

  • http://www.itsbeach.com beach

    WTF!!? This is disturbing.

    I can't figure SU2C out. They seem way too slick. I'm all for cancer awareness and funding, but the way they do it seems fake and insincere. They seem intent on trying to make cancer awareness “hip” but I think they're missing the target. Ah. It seems commercial. Like they're commercializing cancer.

    I don't like the celebrity stuff, I don't like the MLB stuff, I don't like their branding, marketing, and merchandising. I appreciate their outward intentions, but because of the way the way they market themselves, I have a hard time trusting them. I wonder how I'd feel about it if I wasn't a lung cancer survivor.

    Then comes their generalization of lung cancer. We already had to yell at them for their stupid lung cancer t-shirt. Now we have this. They need to learn to stop putting lung cancer in a box. I know they're trying to fight all cancer or something, but the facts are the facts. More people have lung cancer, more people die from lung cancer and we all know about the funding. So maybe treat it with some respect.

  • http://www.itsbeach.com beach

    Okay… I've been looking into this a bit more. I don't know how widely known this is, but SU2C is part of another non-profit called the Entertainment Industry Foundation. http://www.eifoundation.org/ This explains a lot.

    Again, I'm all for good intentions, but I think these guys might be a bit out of touch. The entertainment industry can easily be described as self involved at best. So it's no wonder why this organization is the way it is.

  • pw

    I also sent them an email stating my extreme dissappointment in their little skit regarding Lung Cancer! Got the same generic reply back basically stating that Cancer patients need a sense of humor!!! I would like to see the composer of that letter laughing after a 4 hour surgery to remove a lung tumor or after enduring a 5 hour chemo treatment!!! That letter was a slap in the face to anyone dealing with Cancer.

  • Bets

    I thought the skit was very insulting! We are fighting lung cancer and they tell us to have a sense of humor? I find it hard to laugh at some idiot singing Eboney and Ivory about a pair of black and white lungs caused by smoking, what was that all about? It is like telling someone with colon cancer or breast cancer it you didn't eat so much unhealthy food, you wouldn't have cancer and then bring in a large donut and a dancing dble cheeseburger!

    We need to put the stigmatism of smoking behind us in lung cancer awareness, there are far too any people dying from it and a lot of them are young adults that have never smoked.

    When are they going to break down and tell us how much of the donations will be going to the #1 killer of all the cancers combined? 10% if we are lucky?

  • Wtf

    It's almost as disturbing as using the initials WTF to support your cause. I mean what's the difference here? You have a double standard.

    • http://www.itsbeach.com beach

      Yeah! You sure sound like an intelligent person. I bet you anonymously say super smart things like this to all the thoughtful groups trying raise awareness about the extreme lack of funding and attention that the number one cancer killer receives. I wish I was you.

  • Lizzibeth

    I,too, emailed them with my opinion of their insulting treatment of Lung Cancer and asked them for more information about research. Guess what? I got the same exact reply that your Mom got. When I found out that I had rcvd. a form letter, I emailed them again and told them that they had added insult to injury and owed everyone that suffers from Lung Cancer an apology.

  • M Lavenant

    I complained about the lack of humor and sensitivity and received the same “form” response, as did all of us I believe. I would like to know why the producers of this show and the actors (one of which I believe just won an Emmy) felt compelled to do this skit which was obviously in bad taste and why the producers approved it. Well, at least they devoted less than a minute to this disease. So many people in show business have been taken by this disease but I guess it will take another very famous one being taken to become the “poster child” and get the word out AGAIN! Yep, concurrent chemo (cisplatin and etoposide) and radiation is really a hoot, huh? Losing 30 pounds also cracks me up. Losing all your hair, vomiting and fatigue are side splitting. We deserve a public apology for this.

  • http://www.itsbeach.com beach

    I have one more thought about this… What if there was a lung cancer survivor standing next to those guys and the lungs on that stage? Would they have been asked to make it funny then? What if the survivor just happened to have never smoked? What if it was caused by air pollution? What would they have done then?

  • Sduggins

    I was so excited to see what Stand up to Cancer had to say about Lung Cancer. When I seen the funny skit I was not laughing but crying. You see my husband died last August from Lung Cancer after just 6 months. He never smoked, was healthy, played golf , but just like that he was gone. He left behind a son and daughter and a new grandson who will never know his Paw Paw. So you see why I don't see anything funny about it. I don't see Katie Couric laughing about her Husband's Cancer.

  • Tom Chiodo

    Jennifer,

    I am a senior member of the Stand Up To Cancer communications team, and a cancer survivor. I want to apologize that we offended you and other viewers with the telecast’s lung cancer segment and then with our reply to some of the emails we received. I want to reach out individually to everyone that wrote to us. We take all the feedback we’ve received to heart, and going forward, it will help inform our decision-making process about the content we produce.

    Thank you for noting that we did make an effort in the show to convey that smoking isn’t the only cause of lung cancer. Every single person diagnosed with lung cancer is important; in no way did we mean to convey otherwise.

    Significant and very promising research relating to lung cancer is being done by SU2C investigators: on our “Epigenetics Dream Team”, our “Circulating Tumor Cell Chip Dream Team”, as well as a number of our Innovative Grant Recipients. The video progress report about the Epigenetics Team — which features a lung cancer patient — can be seen at http://www.standup2cancer.org/sutv#channelId=/sutv/service/thelab (In the list on right, click on “Epigenetics Dream Team on the 2010 Show”). In addition, information on this clinical trial and others can be found at http://www.standup2cancer.org/clinicaltrials. (Scroll to the bottom of the home page and click on SU2C Dream Team clinical trial information.)

    Our scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), will issue a call for ideas for our next round of Innovative Grants within the next month, and we’d like to ask for your assistance. If you know of institutions where promising lung cancer research is being done, please notify us, or our AACR colleagues at su2c@aacr.org and they will contact the Directors of those Centers to encourage their researchers to consider applying for a grant. We can’t guarantee the outcome of the selection process as those recommendations are made by our Scientific Advisory Committee, but this would be a very helpful step you and others in the community can take to maximize the likelihood that lung cancer continues to be directly addressed by Stand Up To Cancer funded researchers. Additionally, with Lung Cancer Awareness Month coming up in November, we'll be reaching out to lung cancer advocacy groups soon to determine the best way our su2c.org website can help heighten awareness.

    Thank you for raising your concerns with us and for all you do to honor your mom, as well as others affected by lung cancer.

    Sincerely,

    Tom Chiodo
    tchiodo@eifoundation.org

  • Vinnie

    I too have lung cancer and am not a smoker. I realize the association from this disease and smoking will always be there for the ignorant public, I was hoping that your show would educate the public rather than continuing to propigate the ignorance. Thanks for nothing.

    Instead why do we hear about Breast Cancer so intently and what about colon cancer? Can it be there are spokespersons charging the path to charitable donations? I.E. Katy Couric…If no one stands in our corner to lead the march for the #1 cancer killer will anyone know about the CT scans and chest X-rays that will save lives? Why are we wasting valuable media time talking about Lindsay Lohan instead of educating the public that lung cancer can be hinding without symptoms as mine was. I was diagnosed with stage 3A LC without a symptom as a non smoker. Who will be brave enough to lead the march for Lung Cancer the largest killer yet taboo for prime time fund raisers.

  • Reed

    As a donor of a sizeable amount of dollars, my sole concern is that the money is used for research, research in which well paid physicians and support staff also donate an appreciable in-kind service contribution. My greatest fear in donating to such critical issues is that the donor is usually left hoping (never receiving proof) what he or she contributed was actually used in a positvie productive manner for the cause for which the contribution was intended. I hope in my case, the money is used productively

    • guest

      What about a boycott to donating to the big cure “non-profits” for a while…wouldn't that get someone's attention. What if a fund was set up for the suffering and their caretakers to help them. Then only donate to the researchers who are “producing” results. When the money goes away the folks who are getting our money and tax dollars will notice…and many in that business will lose their jobs and their insurance…and be like many of us just suffering and wondering who cares…they may “notice” then. Thank you for caring.

  • Gentnsc

    I thought that was the most IDIOTIC (and insensitive) portrayal of lung cancer EVER shown! They TRIVIALIZED the plight of 160,000 people who DIE from the cancer “every year!”

    If they had done that with “Pink Breasts” the BREAST CANCER people would have been ALL OVER them screaming for their HEADS!

    They could have at LEAST done something to help educate people how they can help PREVENT lung cancer (for themselves and their families)! (at least according to the Surgeon General)

    http://www.epa.gov/radon/video/other_warning.mpeg

    http://homeaireofsc.com/vidpages/cbs.html

    http://homeaireofsc.com/vidpages/wyff.html

    http://homeaireofsc.com/vidpages/juliaharris.html

    http://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisks.html

    • Clearcutbook

      It’s great to avoid radon and cigs and other bad stuff, but I believe the cancer establishment, NIH, and other entities have a vested interest in maintaining that smoking is THE evil culprit. There are tons of carcinogens in our air, and the long years of Bush-era industry deregulation exacerbated that. Probably no one knows which precise elixir of unregulated toxic pollutants are correlated with lung ca specifically.
      But this is why nonsmokers’ lung ca rates are rising, and corporations do not want that information to become public knowledge. The facts about nonsmoker lung ca are incredibly downplayed in the corporate-owned media.

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  • http://www.mightycasey.com MightyCasey

    Jennifer, I tried to post a comment on your WEGO blog, but Javascript had other ideas…so here goes.

    That you took on SU2C is terrific, particularly on a disease so widely misunderstood as lung cancer. Altho I'm a breast cancer warrior (don't like the word survivor, has a victimology cast that I don't cotton to), I tell my audiences to think in terms of early detection for lung, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers.

    Lung cancer is rising precipitously in women – early detection is critical for life-saving treatment. Exemplars of the efficacy of early detection include anyone whose early stage breast cancer was found in a routine mammogram – like me.

    Forget a cure. Cancer's a living organism. It evolves. Just FIND IT.

  • compo

    Disclaimer: I’ve never had lung cancer and don’t know anybody who’s had it. Of course my perspective could be different otherwise.

    In my opinion the whole point of the joke is that the guy singing is doing something inappropriate and making his co-presenter uncomfortable. The audience isn’t SUPPOSED to be on his side, and it’s him we’re supposed to laugh at, not lung cancer.

    He says at the start he was told to make it funny and the fact that he tries to do that in a way that doesn’t make much sense – singing a song that has an extremely tenuous connection to the subject – is the real joke intended here.

    Humour is subjective so it’s inevitable that it won’t make everyone laugh but I don’t get any sense at all that whoever wrote the sketch is trivialising or poking fun at lung cancer. The studio audience far from recoiled in horror and I’m sure they wouldn’t be laughing if they sensed that the sketch was offensive.

  • Pingback: Accountability: SU2C Apologizes to My Mom & the Lung Cancer Community

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