Opening Remarks at Carcinoid Awareness Rally

May 2, 2005
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Good morning, my name is Teresa Lanza. I am the founder of the Pennsyvlania Carcinoid Cancer Advocacy Network and I welcome you to this historic location – the beautiful Capitol of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is fitting to be in this historic location because today is an historic day.

With the assistance of our friends Speaker John Perzel & Dr. Harold Harvey, Pennsylvania joins a national movement to bring awareness to carcinoid cancer with the creation of PA’s first Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Month.

Carcinoid Cancer Awareness is a life and death issue for members of Pennsylvania Carcinoid Cancer Advocacy Network, known as PCCAN. For those of us diagnosed with carcinoid cancer and other types of neuroendocrine cancers, it is an issue we are passionate about.

Because we, along with our families and friends, have experienced first hand the difficulty that comes with delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, the frustration of trying to find appropriately aggressive treatment, and the challenge to be adequately monitored.

We struggle with these things because carcinoid cancer is not common. We struggle with these things because the symptoms of carcinoid cancer often resemble other diseases. And we struggle with these things because many of the advances made in the past decade in diagnosing and treating carcinoid cancer have yet to become common practice.

We, members of PCCAN, are here on this historic day along with our friends and family who support us, because we don’t want the next person diagnosed with carcinoid cancer to experience the same struggles.

We are here today because we want fewer families to experience the needless suffering of a family member and the separation from a loved one due to a premature death from carcinoid.

We are here today because carcinoid cancer can be and should be something we live with NOT something we die from.

We are here because we want the next generation of carcinoid cancer patients to have an easier road with earlier diagnosis, appropriately aggressive treatment and better monitoring.

How can achieve this goal? By spreading our message.

And to the medical community our message is a simple one: You Must Suspect It To Detect It. Take a look at the current body of knowledge about carcinoid, reeducate yourselves on the symptoms, and learn about the new diagnostic, treatment, and monitoring options.

And to those who have been diagnosed with carcinoid cancer our message is this: Consult with a carcinoid specialist, become your own carcinoid expert, and seek out as much information as possible about the treatment and monitoring options. Join your local carcinoid support group and exhaust every resource available to you.