Advocating for lung cancer research
Anne Streeter had a very busy day last week. She’d gladly do it over and over.
The Bella Vista resident spent last Wednesday meeting with Arkansas members of Congress to share her story of losing her husband of 35 years to lung cancer in 2015 and the need for more funding in lung cancer research.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, your senators and representatives represent you and when there’s something important to you like lung cancer is to me, we need to let them know our thoughts and hope they have the data to make good decisions,” Streeter said. “They need us, and we need them.”
Through the American Lung Association’s “Lung Force” initiative, Streeter joined others personally affected by lung cancer to advocate for $46.1 billion in funding at the National Institutes of Health, $10 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, adequate and accessible healthcare.
Due to restrictions of covid-19, Streeter visited virtually with Arkansas Sen. John Boozman and staff members of Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Steve Womack, sharing her personal experience with lung cancer and why investments in public health, research funding and quality and affordable health care are important to her.
“It went great,” Streeter said of her online meetings. “Everyone said the same thing and agree that there is a need for improved healthcare for all Americans. It’s finding the right way to do that is the complicated part.
Streeter’s husband Bill, a retired federal law enforcement agent, smoked a tobacco pipe for several years. He had numerous bouts with pneumonia, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which made it difficult for him to breathe. Several lung biopsies and other tests failed to find lung cancer until August 2015. By then, it was at stage four with no treatments available.
Bill Streeter passed away three months after his first cancer diagnosis.
“The treatments were there, but by the time he was diagnosed, even with all the biopsies and scans, he was diagnosed with stage four cancer and nothing could be done at that point,” Streeter said. “We were blessed to have that three months with him before he passed away. Our two sons and grandsons got to spend time with him and that was great.”
According to the American Lung Association, it is estimated that in 2021, there will be more than 2,970 people in Arkansas
diagnosed with lung cancer and 1,810 will succumb to the disease.
“More people than ever are living with lung cancer, in part, because survivors are sharing their stories and policymakers are taking action in response,” said Jill Dale with the American Lung Association. “That’s why Streeter is sharing her story with lawmakers and others — so that more can be done to help lung cancer patients and their caregivers throughout the United States and in Arkansas.”
Streeter said her husband’s career led to many moves across the country before he retired and spent 20 years farming in Kentucky before he became ill.
After Bill’s passing, Streeter relocated to Bella Vista in 2016 so she could be closer to two sisters who have lived in Fayetteville for many years. While her husband never got to experience living in the Northwest Arkansas area that Streeter has fallen in love with, he knew her plans to move to Bella Vista before he passed away.
“He knew this was my plan,” Streeter said. “He really liked the area, he liked Fayetteville.”
And Streeter can’t wait to finally get more involved in an activity that was special to both.
“We both really enjoyed golf,” she said. “I haven’t gotten to get into it really since I’ve been here, but that’s on my to-do list.”
Continuing to be an advocate for lung cancer research and funding will always be on that list, too.
“We can all honor the people we love if we can do something on their behalf,” she said. “It helps our grief and is part of grieving.”