The LUNGevity Blog

Besides my family, LUNGevity has been the closest thing to my heart for the past nine years. When I first got involved it was about what lung cancer had done to ME. Over the years, my passion and determination has evolved – in more ways than just adding ‘patient’ to my lung cancer resume that already includes granddaughter, daughter, niece and friend. My story is just part of a much bigger story and a much bigger fight. As I’ve watched LUNGevity grow on both the local and national level, I am so inspired by the growing community of volunteers, advocates, doctors and scientists who are determined to give lung cancer research, and lung cancer in general, the hope, funding and respect it deserves. I’m honored to have been a part of the growth and excited about future possibilities, but the road that led me here wasn’t so easy.

It started 27 years ago when I was 13. Lung cancer not only took the lives of two of my grandparents, but that same year my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and died three months later at the age of 41. Lung cancer came back to haunt my family when I was 23 and my aunt was diagnosed with it, but after a surgery she was considered cured. Two years later my aunt faced another battle with lung cancer, had another surgery and was considered cured again. Two years after that my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. There was no surgical cure and my mom lost her battle six months later at the age of 54. The cruelty of lung cancer showed its face again when nine months later my aunt faced yet another battle with lung cancer. She won the first two battles, but not the third and ultimately lost the fight 18 months later when she died at the age of 56.

I hated lung cancer! The insidious disease orphaned me at 28, left me bitter and angry and was eating me up inside. I could only move forward if I looked at it differently and did not allow lung cancer to control and define me. Whether through coincidence or fate, LUNGevity had just gotten off the ground and I was able to gain some control over my losses because my involvement empowered me to make a difference. The other control I needed was to protect my four young children from having to experience the loss of a parent at a young age so I started getting ct scans when my mom was diagnosed. I knew I was at high risk and while I was the first to point out that ‘anyone’ can get lung cancer; I was just as naïve as the next because I really never thought it would happen to me! Considering my years with LUNGevity and my intimacy with lung cancer, the irony of my diagnosis last year at 39 years old is still surreal.

I’ve now been both a loved one and a patient and through experiencing both sides I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned we need to educate the public to increase awareness. We need to educate patients so they can understand their diagnosis, navigate through the healthcare system and know their options to help make sound treatment decisions.

I’ve learned that finding the support, strength and courage from other people who have gone through a lung cancer diagnosis is just as important as finding the best medical care. The support of family and friends is crucial, but no one can truly understand the lung cancer journey (I emphasize lung because unfortunately it looks, acts and is still treated differently than other cancers – a topic for another time) unless they’ve walked in those shoes.

Most importantly I’ve learned that being a lung cancer advocate can be both rewarding and painful. The painful part is hard, but if my experiences and outlook can help provide information and/or emotional support to others, it helps me make sense of what I’ve been through. I believe that sharing and encouraging others to share stories, knowledge and experiences can provide the tools and courage we all need to feel empowered and to become confident lung cancer advocates.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Lung Cancer, Testimonial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.