Let's break the circle pf blame and guilt.

Hi, I’m Eric Bell, I’m 15 years old, I’m a 9th grade student and my life changed early on when, in August 2020, I lost my father to lung cancer.

My father was 57 and I was just 12.

When my father became ill and eventually passed away, I was filled with grief and anger. I was very, very angry. Growing up, I try not to have negative thoughts. But I can never forget how much it upset me that my dad used to smoke in the past.

He too felt guilty about smoking, even though he had quit, 12 years before he got sick. In fact, my birth was the trigger for his quitting smoking. But now that I’m older and have realized that smoking is not the only cause of lung cancer, I’m sorry I felt that way. I’m very, very sorry.

And if it wasn’t for the stigma around lung cancer because of smoking, maybe my dad wouldn’t feel as though lung cancer was his own fault. And I wouldn’t feel angry at him. 

When my dad got sick, everything changed in our family. The burden fell on my mother who took care of everything until the last moment.

But my sister and I are still trying to find peace and balance in our lives. It’s tough, but we’ll figure it out.

It’s tragic to lose a parent at such a young age. Well, that’s life.

My dad didn’t know about early screening, which could have detected his cancer earlier or maybe even cure it.

His loss was an injustice, because my father, whom I loved so much, didn’t deserve the stigma.

He didn’t deserve to miss the chance of taking part in a clinical trial, because of policy weaknesses in Greece.

He didn’t deserve to be taken from us because he couldn’t receive a drug that only existed at the time through that clinical trial.

So, I think there is a great value in equal access to clinical trials. Because clinical trials could have saved my father. And they could have saved any father or any mother or any son, daughter, any beloved one.

What should be done to ensure that all patients have access to similar trials?

My dad had the right to know about prevention. But he was not given the information.

He had the right to be cured. But he was not given the chance.

And he had the right to live. But he just did not get the time.