Lung cancer affects more than 80,000 American women annually. More than 70,000 of these cases are fatal. Thirty thousand more women die from lung cancer than from breast cancer. And lung cancer claims more lives of more women than breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers combined. Yet a new study reveals that American women are uninformed about statistics like these -- and about the threats posed by lung cancer.

A 2006 survey of 500 women provides a snapshot of women's attitudes and beliefs about lung cancer -- and the overwhelming conclusion is that there is a widespread lack of awareness about the nation's top cancer killer. And here's the lowdown:

• Only 41 percent of women know that lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States.
• Only 8 percent of women know that exposure to radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer -- 60 percent instead believe that second-hand smoke is the culprit.
• Only 36 percent of women know lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer.
• Only 41 percent of women know that one in 17 women will develop lung cancer sometime in her life.
• Only 4 percent of women know that women typically fare better than men following lung cancer treatment.
• And 25 percent of women mistakingly believe that there is a standard screening test to detect lung cancer in its early stages. Currently, there is not one.

Lung cancer is often believed to be a man's disease. But it is not. It affects tens of thousands of women too. And now I -- as one of the previously uninformed women -- know better.

Cancer go away.

The news is not good today. When someone is diagnosed with cancer, and there seem to be so many of us now, it does not diminish the initial response when you find out someone else has cancer. The news is still a shock to the spirit, a moment where the breath catches and pauses out of rythmn, and the heart drops into another pool of sadness. As a cancer survivor, you know what is to come for the newly diagnosed, not just the physical, but the mental, the emotional and the spiritual effects for the cancer patient and those who love them.

Cancer. I hate this disease.

You have just learned you have cancer, and I am surviving cancer. With all my heart, I want you to survive cancer too. I walk back through my mind, retracing my footsteps from the day of my cancer diagnosis to this, remembering all the things I did that might have tipped the scales in favor of my living and not dying. I cannot say I know the one thing that it might have been, or the combination of things I might have done, so I want to remember it all. I want to share all of it with you. I want you to be able to tip the scales in favor of life and not death too.

Here is how I approached my diagnosis of cancer, these are the perspectives I held and the steps I took during my cancer treatments and healing. Maybe there is something in all of it that matters, that made a difference, that if you know too, will help you in your healing too.

Traditionally, the medical community has focused its resources on cancer treatment in saving lives. Rather recently, there is a growing trend and interest in cancer prevention. As a result, there is more awareness and conversation about the causes of cancer, and the ways to prevent cancer. Although less than ten percent of the population links cancer risks to obesity, one of the leading lifestyle factors that is known to raise the risk for cancer is obesity. The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University conducted an online survey that revealed rather startling results. When it comes to obesity, half of the people who responded to the survey said they would give up a year of life rather than be obese. In addition, they indicated they would walk away from their marriage, give up the possibility of having children, be depressed or become alcoholic rather than be obese.

It gets more extreme. Five percent said they'd rather lose a limb than get fat, while four percent said they'd rather be blind than be overweight. Of those who responded, three percent were underweight, 41 percent were normal weight, 21 percent were overweight, 21 percent were obese and 14 percent were very obese. There is something desperately sad about the truth of how we feel about being fat. Being overweight is not good. Maintaining a healthy weight is good. However, it seems being fat is dangerously weighted in more than our concern for health. The psychological pain appears profound for many even considering the possibility of being overweight and illustrates the lengths people would be willing to go to be thin. Alcoholism? Loss of limb? Blindness?