The 15-40 Connection
I hate Cancer. I’m pretty sure most people would agree with me.
I was introduced to cancer at a very young age. A friend that I was in a karate class with sadly succumbed to it. I have fond memories of a large group of us in class, learning, laughing, and growing together…but at one point, she was no longer able to join us… and after some time, my parents had to break the news of what happened.
Since then, I have been reminded of the existence of Cancer all too often. Late in high school and early college I lost 2 of my grandparents to varying forms of it. I still get upset thinking about the excruciatingly slow process in which we were forced to say our good-bye’s.
More recently, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with it…. Lung cancer, to be specific.
While the 3 former examples ended in loss, the latter example of my mother-in-law ended with a more positive note. Why? Early detection. She did not feel well for a while. This past holiday season was very difficult for her. She had been coughing a lot and complaining of fatigue. She went to the hospital in January of this year, and after various tests, which were followed by biopsies, we had our answer. Stage 1 Lung Cancer. She immediately had surgery and the cancerous growths forming on her lungs were completely eradicated from her body. What helped to save her life? Early detection.
What exactly is early detection, you ask? That’s where the 15-40 Connection comes in.
The 15-40 Connection works to increase the cancer survival rate through teaching methods of early detection with 3 steps.
1. Know what “good” feels like for you.
- You know yourself best. If you don’t feel well, listen to your body.
2. The two-week rule.
- If you notice a change, even a subtle change, in your health that lasts over 2 weeks, call your doctor.
3. Share with your doctor.
- You are your best advocate. Share all the details with your doctor… even if your symptoms are embarrassing. Have you ever tried to embarrass a doctor? It’s difficult… they’ve heard and seen everything.
The idea is that by following these 3 simple rules, if you have Cancer, you will increase your chances of detecting it early and thus increasing your survival rate. While many organizations focus on research, what makes this organization different is that their focus is education. Knowledge is power. Armed with the knowledge, you can save the life of yourself and hopefully others.
The 15-40 Connection is working to create educational materials for their key audience, adults between the ages of 15-40. This age group has not kept up with the increasing survival rates of other age groups.
With that said, I have the privilege of working with the 15-40 Connection as they work to build their curriculum. A few weeks ago, I visited the 15-40 Connection offices, and met with the Founder, Jim Coghlin, and two members of his amazing team, Kelly and Tricia, to review their current materials and talk about all things education and messaging. After the meeting, I spent the rest of the day poring over their materials and later provided feedback on how to reach certain audiences and ideas on how to increase knowledge retention (you know high school kids, in one ear and out the other).
Even though the give back day is over, I have offered to volunteer my time with 15-40 Connection in any way that I can going forward. I am not a doctor or a medical professional, but if I can do anything… even if it’s one little thing to help in the fight of Cancer… here I stand.
If you want to learn more about the 15-40 Connection and all of the work that they do, please visit: https://www.15-40.org/ . If you visit the site, you can watch video blogs/stories from Cancer survivors and learn more about how essential early detection truly is.
Laura Bortolussi | Instructional Designer | Kronos Incorporated