Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our spring member drive has ended, but it's not too late to give. You have the power to help fund the essential journalism that keeps us all informed. Help us close the gap on our spring fundraising goal! GIVE NOW

Former Soccer Player Advocating To Overcome Stigma Of Lung Cancer

JNCCN.org

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Utah according to Utah’s Public Health Data Resource. Symptoms often do not appear until the disease is advanced and early detection of this cancer is difficult.

Taylor Duck was a division one college soccer player who struggled with health concerns for two years before being diagnosed with the disease. She dreamed of playing division one soccer from the time she was a child. In 2005 that dream became a reality, but that dream was halted after some mysterious health concerns.

“I got to pre-season workouts and everything was going great except for the fact that I couldn’t feel my toes and I couldn’t pass a fitness test that is required to be able to play on the team,” Duck said. “I was quickly sent to several physician offices to try and figure out what was going on. Over the course of a year, we were unsuccessfully able to figure what was happening and why I was struggling so bad physically. After an entire year of still being on the team and trying to contribute, I was quite miserable. So I made the difficult decision to stop playing soccer.”

In an effort to remain positive, Duck became involved with campus activities. But she could tell that something was still wrong.

“I had several bouts of pneumonia and reoccurring respiratory infections and randomly ended up in the emergency room for what I though was a ruptured appendix,” Duck said. “I had a CT of my abdomen and pelvis which incidentally showed a large left lung mass and a partially collapsed lung which ultimately led to the diagnosis of lung cancer at the age of 21.”

Duck said being diagnosed with lung cancer was scary, but there was some relief because the cause of her health concerns had been discovered.

Duck and her physician assistant Scott Balderson are working together to spread awareness and offer support to those dealing with lung cancer. They are also advocating against stigmas associated with lunch cancer.

“When people hear the words lung cancer, they immediately associate it with cigarette smoking,” Balderson said. “That’s very problematic because it ignores the fact that a significant number of people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year who have absolutely no history of cigarette smoking whatsoever.”

Balderson said no matter what your lifestyle is, the possibility of lung cancer is still there.