Reply #18: See, that is just the thing, not necessarily. My grandmother

[JeanGrey]

lived to be 104, had she lived three more days she would've been 105. She had nine brothers and sisters and she was the oldest, and when she was 98 they were ALL living and in good health. These people were farmers. And yes, they ALL smoked. Every one of them. In fact most of the people in my family except my parents did. And there is not one single case of lung cancer OR COPD among them. They just die of old age. My great grandmother up until the last six months, still lived in an apartment with my grandmother, cooked, cleaned, etc. She actually gave up cigs at the age of around 70 and took up a corn cob pipe which she smoked until she died.

I just wish that researchers would take the people who do all the WRONG things and see why they don't get it, versus those who do the right things and still do. My oncologists tell me if not for my family history I'd be long dead because my kind of cancer that started out in the liver is incredibly deadly. Unfortunately my immune system is compromised due to anti-rejection medicine and that is contributing to it, unfortunately. And yet my genetics are helping me too.

I am so sorry that you grandmother suffered for 30 years, I've never known anyone to live that long with COPD and that severe of shortness of breath.

So far, I don't have any SOB unless I exert myself and that is mostly due to the loss of lung tissue from surgery.

Most of my family were tobacco farmers and they rolled their own. At least from what I remember as a child.

I just wish we could remove the unnecessary idea that if you have lung cancer you deserve it.