Take responsibility for your health

Recently, I did an interview with a regional business magazine, which asked me an interesting question: “If you found yourself alone in a dark alley, what would you be most afraid of?” It took me just about one second to think of the answer: The answer is cancer.

Losing a loved one to cancer is a life-altering experience. I lost my father in 1995 to lung cancer and it was without a doubt, one of the saddest moments of my life. My role model and mentor, my father was an accomplished business executive in international marketing, but most of all, a caring and devoted dad.

He was also a smoker for over 40 years. For so many years of what I remember of my childhood, the sound of Dad’s smoker’s cough was a familiar sound every morning and every night in our household. Unfortunately, it was also a sound that Dad did not take seriously enough. It was a sign that something was seriously wrong.

I moved to Saipan in 1986 and made the island my home, but I also made it a point to visit my father back in California once a year. In 1995, I became pregnant with my first daughter and had to wait until she was old enough to travel for my annual visit. Our pediatrician suggested waiting until my baby was seven weeks old. Dad was very excited about the visit, as this would be the opportunity to see his first and only grandchild.

My sister told me, “Lynn, please hurry, because Dad is sick.” My father didn’t tell me about his condition because he didn’t want to worry me, but when I first set eyes on him, I immediately realized that he was gravely ill. We had one final week together before he passed away. It was the saddest moment I could have imagined: My sister and I held his hands as he took his last breath—a dynamic and happy life cut short by cigarette smoking which led to emphysema and finally lung cancer. How we wished he had taken the signs more seriously and gotten help earlier!

Just two months later, I learned that I had a dangerous, but treatable type of skin cancer. My newborn baby daughter was somehow drawn to a particular place on my skin and found a way to let me know that something was wrong.

Since that time, I’ve managed my own check ups and treatments. Some people might choose to ignore skin cancer and let it go too long, but it should be taken seriously. In fact, this disease was responsible for the death of the daughter of a former U.S. President, Maureen Reagan.

It has been 11 years since I first learned about this condition and been able to lead a full life because there are many more options today to take care of this and other types of cancer. Whenever I go off island, I make it a point to get my regular check-ups, and when doctors have recommended various treatments over the years, I have followed their orders to the letter.

But unfortunately, we do not have many cancer services nor the latest remedies and scientific advancements here in the CNMI. The economies of scale in this small community make it difficult to afford cancer-related services. More unfortunately, there are many people who cannot afford to seek off-island medical care. We need to at least have occasional visits by specialists. This is perhaps something the community can do with the money raised by the Marianas March Against Cancer.

But the bottom line is this: Do not wait for someone else to take care of you. The message I would like to give is TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR HEALTH. Listen to your body. Help a loved one when you can see something is wrong, when you hear a smoker’s cough. Put sunscreen on your children and do not let them get too much sun. Offer help when you see someone who is denying that they don’t feel well. Put an arm around their shoulders and encourage them to go to the doctor.

The key to being a cancer survivor is catching it early and getting treatment. Take responsibility for your health and you can lead a long and happy life and be a survivor, like so many of the courageous people who were honored as survivors at Friday’s event. I am so proud of all of these brave and beautiful people who turned out for the March!

I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the Marianas March Against Cancer during all of the years that this wonderful community event has taken place on Saipan. You ARE making a difference and you have raised a lot of money to help promote cancer awareness and education here in our community.

It was such a pleasure to see so many children taking part in this healthy activity this year. I’d like to say a special thank you to all the teams, the team captains, and most especially the committee, which has worked so hard to raise a record of $92,250.53 this year despite the difficult economy.

I’d like to also thank the members of the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Islands for once again funding and hosting the annual dinner for honor cancer survivors and their family members who took part in the Marianas March this year. My hat goes off to you all!

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Editor’s Note: Lynn Knight, chairwoman of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands was the keynote speaker at this year’s Marianas March Against Cancer on Friday, May 12. In addition to her career as vice president of Corporate Affairs for Tan Holdings, she is a mother of two young daughters and is a past president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce. She is also a cancer survivor of 11 years.