Discover The Truth TM About Lung Cancer

Learn about non-smokers and former smokers who quit decades ago who developed lung cancer. Learn how lung cancer doesn't discriminate regardless if you smoked or not. Find out what some of these survivors and family members of loved ones want you to know as we share their stories with you on our website starting in June 2009. Every week starting June 8th we will feature a story from a nonsmoker or former smoker ages 6 to 66 who developed lung cancer.

The people who were courageous enough to share their stories as part of our Discover The Truth TM About Lung Cancer project want you to know that you don't have to smoke to get lung cancer. They also want you to know that even if you quit 10,20, or 30 years ago, you shouldn't ignore symptoms that seem like a nagging cough or take the simple diagnosis from your doctor that you have bronchitis. Ask your doctor if there is a test that he can do to rule out lung cancer.

Featured stories below.                                                                                                        Share your story.

Photo of Lori Hope by D. Ross Cameron, Bay Area News Group

Brittany Coppedge, age 19

Vibrant, energetic, beautiful, athletic, courageous…that was Brittany Coppedge from day one.  At 19, she was the picture of health and loving life. Brittany was a college sophomore, a gymnast and a coach until September 2006.  What started as a nagging cough and lethargy quickly became a cause for concern.  After countless trips to the health center at school she was sent home with the reassurance that she had a double pneumonia and that all would be fine once the antibiotics began working.

The coughing and tiredness hadn’t improved.  After filing for a medical withdrawal for the semester, she returned home and visited a local doctor who proclaimed her "pneumonia-free", but began treatment for a reactive airway.  Inhalers and more antibiotics were prescribed with instructions to return for follow-up visits in one month.  Because there was no reason to suspect otherwise, no x-rays were taken.

By Thanksgiving day, Brittany was in tremendous pain and unable to breathe. She wanted to go to the hospital. For ten days she endured test after test, all coming back with negative results. Finally after an open lung biopsy, three days later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. A double lung transplant looked to be her only option. However, the cancer was very aggressive and upon admittance she began declining very quickly. Three weeks after being diagnosed, Brittany lost her battle with lung cancer. It was three days after Christmas.”  - As told by Tammy Coppedge, Brittany’s mom
          

Jerrold Dash, age 35

Jerrold Dash was 35 when he got the news that he had terminal lung cancer. "It is time to stop looking at the package. It is time to stop blaming the carton for lung cancer.

I had terminal lung cancer being diagnosed at stage 4 despite the fact that I never smoked, was an athlete, and didn’t have any of the lifestyle characteristics that society attributes to lung cancer. "

Jerrold says "had" terminal lung cancer because he was temporarily cured by a bi-lateral lung transplant in March 2007. "My cancer has since returned (stage 1A) and has been removed again through surgery, so I am fine and fighting this urban war." Jerrold says he calls it an "urban war" because the battles are fought on so many fronts. "The two main fronts are the lack of funding lung cancer receives compared with many of the other cancers, and the fact that society often blames this condition on us saying, 'We shouldn't have smoked.' Lung cancer happens. It happened to me, it can happen to you....be proactive not reactive. Save yourself and someone you love by helping us find a cure."

Jerrold Dash resides in Dallas, TX and is married and father of two beautiful little girls. To learn more about Jerrold, he has a blog that you can follow at: http://2newlungs.blogspot.com/  and was recently featured in an online article, Voices of Lung Cancer by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times on April 22, 2009.

Katherine Wilson, age 23

In April 2000, Katherine, a 23 year old nursing student at UNC-Chapel Hil
started having a dry cough and severe back and chest pain. She felt a crackling in her left lung as she breathed. Thankfully, they had just learned about lung sounds in class and she was immediately aware of what the crackling sensation might sound like through a stethoscope. She asked the instructor to listen to her lung and the instructor suggested that Katherine go to the Student Health. She was initially treated with an antibiotic for walking pneumonia. When the follow-up chest x-ray 5 days later still showed the unusual spot in her lung unchanged, she had a chest CT scan which showed a tumor in her chest. She was immediately scheduled to have a surgical biopsy. Finally after waiting for a week, which seemed like a year, Katherine was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer.

Within a few days after her diagnosis Katherine began an aggressive treatment plan that included twice-a-day radiation with concurrent chemotherapy.  After finishing the four cycles of chemotherapy, she had prophylactic brain radiation for five weeks. 
 
Katherine continued taking classes over the next three years while she was treated with four more courses of chemotherapy and additional radiation.  Katherine was hospitalized numerous times for treatment and cancer related complications: pericarditis, achalasia, back and shoulder pain, and vertical double vision. 
       
In May of 2004, our precious daughter proudly walked across the stage to receive her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from UNC – Chapel Hill.  Katherine died on Feb. 16, 2005. About two months before she died, her friends started raising money to establish a scholarship in her memory in the UNC–School of Nursing.  The first Katherine Wilson Scholar graduated in May 2007.
- As told by John & Ann Wilson
          

Charmaine Atkinson, age 46

My diagnosis of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer in September 2006 at 46 years of age came out of the blue. I was wife to my college sweetheart, mom to two beautiful daughters and an adorable Yorkshire terrier, active at my church and President of the PTO.  I had never smoked, never lived with a smoker, or worked in a smoke-filled environment.   I was diagnosed after sustaining a spontaneous burst fracture of my 10th thoracic vertebra while sitting on our family room couch watching the original “Jaws” movie.  It was my first and only symptom of lung cancer.
 

Three days after surgery to repair my fractured spine, pathology results revealed that I had metastatic lung cancer and a young oncologist told me I had 4 to 6 months to live.  Happily, he was wrong.  It has been more than 2 ½ years since my diagnosis and I still feel perfectly healthy.  My doctor calls me a miracle girl.  I agree.  I credit novel, continuous, aggressive chemotherapy, radiation therapy, the love and support of family and friends, and the Divine Mercy of God for the extraordinary results I have had in keeping lung cancer at bay and for tolerating treatment without side effects.  I live every day joyfully and with gratitude for the blessings of each day.  An optimist, I believe that anyone alive today with even Stage IV lung cancer has a chance to see lung cancer become a chronic disease and eventually cured.

 - As told by Charmaine Atkinso,  Lung Cancer Survivor

 

Kate MacIntyre, age 52

In early 2005 she experienced vague but persistent symptoms- hot flashes, fatigue and pain in her chest. There could have been any number of explanations- menopause, among them - but the diagnosis of lung cancer she received in April of that year was totally unexpected. A non-smoker and married for only two months, Kate knew she faced some serious challenges.     
After undergoing immediate whole-head radiation for brain metastases, she and her husband, Peter Macon, traveled from Davidson to UNC Chapel Hill to enroll in a clinical trial of the drug Erbitux. She first took Erbitux paired with Carboplatin, followed by an additional two months of Erbitux alone. She celebrated the start of 2006 in remission and began taking Tarceva in July, 2006.
Kate was a strong advocate for clinical trials and she served on a panel for a symposium presented by the UNC School of Public Health on “Driving the Future of Clinical Trials: Safer Drugs and Faster Approvals.” She also participated in a pharmaceutical video and on a panel on clinical trials at a UNC Lineberger Board of Visitors meeting.  Kate died on October 22, 2007 after a courageous battle with non-smoking related lung cancer.” - As told by her husband, Peter MacIntyre,

The Kate MacIntyre Foundation was founded in 2007.

Gabby Wilson, age 6

Gabby Wilson was a happy healthy little girl. But when Gabby was 5 years old she had come down with recurrent pneumonia. For a year she had multiple tests and bronchoscopes (an instrument inserted into the airways usually through the nose or mouth) at a local children's hospital.

They continually told us she had scar tissue from the pneumonia that kept growing back, so they advised us to keep taking it out. They were wrong. Gabby had been misdiagnosed.

During her last bronchoscope they told us it grew back again. Frustrated and wanting answers we then took her to a different hospital. Getting a second opinion diagnosed Gabby with a rare form of lung cancer. We were in shock but relieved to have answers. She had her left lung removed when she was six years old.  

Now, Gabby gets frequent check-ups to make sure the cancer has not returned. Gabby is full of life, loves animals and is determined to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

Gabby wants you to know that lung cancer is not only a smoker’s disease.
- As told by Dana Simi- Wilson, Gabby's mother.

Jacqueline Rankin Patrick, age 40

Like many lung cancer patients, Jacqueline Patrick discovered her lung cancer by accident.
 
In 2005, Jacqueline, a single mother of three living in Atlanta, had been in a serious head-on car accident. The hospital visit resulted in several x-rays and scans which revealed that “something the size of an orange” was sitting in her lower right lung. Further testing showed that this healthy, active, never smoker had developed Adenocarcenoma (a type of non small cell lung cancer). Two weeks after diagnosis she underwent a very long, 14 hour surgery to remove the tumor and confirm that the tumor had not spread. She continued with an additional regimen that consisted of 12 weeks of chemotherapy. After having 75% of her right lung removed, Jacqueline is alive today. However, had it not been for her auto accident, Jacqueline would probably not be with us. Adenocarcenoma, which is the fastest growing type of cancer cell, would have rapidly spread the cancer through her body, giving her an approximate 6 month life expectancy.
 
Today Jacqueline is cancer-free and remains heavily involved in lung cancer advocacy focusing on legislative initiatives, patient advocacy, funding, research and early detection for lung cancer related issues affecting smokers, former smokers and never smokers. We are grateful to have Jacqueline with us in the lung cancer community as we move forward in the lung cancer movement.
 

Lori Hope, age 48

“I always thought it would be my breast the cancer crab would attack with its brittle claw. But instead it assailed what’s hidden beneath: my lung, specifically the left lower lobe. I wouldn’t have known about the crab, stealthy creature that it is, had it not been for blind luck. I went in for a checkup and my doctor felt a hardening in my abdomen and ordered a CT scan. Turns out the lump wasn’t a tumor, just impacted stool. But while reviewing the scan, the radiologist saw on my lung a shadow - which turned out to be a tumor.  I joke that constipation saved my life, but lung cancer is no joke for the millions of us who’ve been punched by it. I say “punched”, not “pinched”, even though I like the crab metaphor, because it’s immeasurably more painful than a pinch, and like a punch, it knocks the wind out of you. Sometimes forever. Don’t even get me started on the expression, “touched by cancer.” I mean, call a spade a bloody shovel, for heaven’s sake. Even though there is great hope, most of us who’ve received a lung cancer diagnosis hear the ticking of the clock as we hold out for more effective treatments. If we’re able, many of us work for more funding, research, and compassion for the disease.
My raison d’etre is to build awareness of the need to act and speak compassionately when confronted with someone with cancer, particularly lung cancer, the most stigmatized and biggest killer of them all. But I cannot have compassion for the disease itself; cannot breathe out love for it, as I breathe out love for its victims.

I am angry at the beast. I want it dead. Now.”
Always hope,
Lori
 

Jamie Young, age 35

A nagging cough that would not go away, weight loss and fatigue that I attributed to being a new mother and working a full time job were just some of the concerning symptoms I noticed while playing with my 2 year old son.  I went to the doctor and after months of antibiotics and tests, an x-ray was ordered which showed a mass in my right lung.  I was referred to a pulmonologist and more scans were taken. After the initial visit and evaluation of the scans, he felt a biopsy was in order.   Four days after my 35th birthday, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIB locally advanced Adenocarcinoma.  My family and I were completely devastated.  Life as we had known it would never be the same.  I was not sure that my life would even continue to exist.  I remember thinking that I may not see my son turn 3, or graduate from kindergarten, or celebrate my next anniversary or live to enjoy my next birthday.   The statistics for my stage of disease were staggering and did not leave room for much hope.
          
It was determined that an aggressive therapy utilizing combined chemotherapy and over 30 radiation treatments would be the approach used .   The effects of the therapy played havoc with my already undernourished body.  The radiation burned my throat and neck so badly that I was not able to eat or drink for about a month.  The side effects were so severe that I had a peg tube inserted.  Through the use of the peg tube, I was able to get the hydration, the pain meds and the much needed calories to keep me nourished and alive.   Towards the end of treatment, I got extremely ill and spent a week in the hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia, radiation pneumonitis and a pleural effusion.  With a fever, chills, and a dangerously low blood pressure, I wasn’t sure that I would make it through the night.  I did some major soul searching during this time and began to prepare myself for whatever might happen.    Soon after, I received my first scans post treatment.  The results were amazing!  Shrinkage!  The treatment had worked and we were ecstatic.  But now what?  My doctor decided on a drug that would be the next approach. After 3+ years of taking this drug, I am happy to report that I am cancer free.” - As told by Jamie Young, Lung Cancer Survivor

 

Melanie Smith, age 51

“So here’s the thing…when half of your immediate family members meet their fate from lung cancer, it’s time to take assertive action. I lost my father in July 1993, brother #1 of 2 in August 2003, and brother #2 of 2 in December 2006. In January 2007 I was sitting in front of my primary care physician asking for a CT scan. The question I carried inside of me was, “Would she really listen to my request given I presented with no visible or typical lung cancer symptoms. And even more so, that I was a never smoker?”
       
It was with good fortune that my painful request was heard. Perhaps it was the tearful plea I presented for my mother, “Please, she can’t lose me too, she’s already endured way too much.” Ten months later I was diagnosed with Stage 1A non-small cell lung cancer following robotic VATS surgery and removal of my right lower lobe. Due to the gift of early detection, my treatment was contained to the surgery.
         
 I recently celebrated my 1½ year anniversary and I’m grateful for every day. I’m taking the advice of my physicians to “go and live my life.” I’m also celebrating each and every day that I have the opportunity to make a difference in support of lung cancer awareness, education, and research. Without the fight, families like mine and yours will continue to be negatively impacted in ways beyond measure. Please join me in the fight for survival!” - As told by Melanie Smith, Lung Cancer Survivor

 

Dusty Donaldson, age 51

"My brother Tommy died of colon cancer at the tender age of 31. So at 28, I followed my doctor’s advice and underwent my first colonoscopy. And every five years since, I had another. Colon cancer was on my watch list.
 

So was breast cancer, even though there was no family history. Every woman knows the warning signs, how to conduct a monthly breast check and when to get mammograms. I diligently followed screening protocols. In 2001, I had a lumpectomy to remove a golf-ball size lump from my left breast. But I dodged the bullet. It was not cancer.

A few years later, though, I was diagnosed with a deadlier cancer—lung cancer. Everyone was shocked, including my doctor. Lung cancer was not on my watch list.

I knew a lovely young lady—Thelma—who died from lung cancer. I   was stumped by the fact that she never smoked, and yet she had lung cancer. The injustice of it all. Following my diagnosis, I realized the world of lung cancer is filled with injustice.
 

Unlike breast, colon and prostate cancers…

  • –there is no screening for lung cancer;
  • –there is little federal research funding for lung cancer;
  • –there are few survivors of lung cancer;
  • –there is little compassion for lung cancer patients.
Lung cancer caught me off guard. Yes, I smoked cigarettes as a youth. I quit 30 years ago at 25. Most diagnosed with lung cancer are former or never smokers. In fact, lung cancer in never smokers is the third cause of cancer deaths. Let’s put lung cancer on a watch list where it belongs." - As told by Dusty Donaldson, Lung Cancer Survivor
 

Joan Marie Gaeta, age 66

September 7, 1938 - July 17, 2007

Joan Gaeta was a devoted wife, teacher, and mother of five…and a life long non-smoker. A teacher by trade, Joan also dedicated much of her time to volunteering.  In addition to being heavily involved with her church, she spent time tutoring unwed pregnant teenagers who had been abandoned, distributing clothes and food with community outreach programs, and even teaching English and basic monetary skills to Laotian immigrant families. 
 

Joan was passionate about putting others before herself.  Despite her busy schedule, she regarded herself first and foremost as the caretaker of the family.  Joan also had a zest for life, a passion for dancing, and was a predominantly self-taught watercolorist.

In 2003, seeking relief from a persistent cough, Joan sought the help of her primary care physician.  With x-rays clean, she was diagnosed with bronchitis and began to treat the symptoms.  However, the coughing continued unabated for months.  One day in early 2004, her lung collapsed while she was outside her home.  After the initial treatment in an emergency room, CT scans and a biopsy revealed inoperable Stage IV non-small cell andenocarcinoma.  The cancer eventually spread to her brain stem and brain.  Joan lost her battle over three years later after several rounds of chemotherapy.
 

During her fight with the disease, Joan stressed the need for greater awareness of lung cancer (the number one cancer killer in the world), its low survival rate, and its tragic lack of research funds. She was most passionate about eliminating the stigma of the disease, since lung cancer also strikes non-smokers at a high rate. - As told by her son, Joe Gaeta Jr

 

Lisa Woody, MD, age 49

“I am an occupational medicine physician and mother of four children. In November of 2007 I had my annual physical and I passed with flying colors.  In January 2008 I began having problems with off-and-on again back pain in a location that made me think I might have a kidney stone.  At the end of February the pain became persistent and I went to see my internist.  She ordered a cat scan (CT) which showed masses in my T10 vertebral body (accounting for the back pain), my right adrenal gland and three in my liver.  My liver function tests were mildly elevated, after being normal in November. I had a CT of my chest, which showed a 2 cm lesion in the upper lobe of my right lung. On March 11, 2008 I was officially diagnosed with stage IV non small cell lung cancer.
 
When I was in medical school and my internal medicine residency this was a very poor prognosis diagnosis - one which usually resulted in a recommendation for comfort measures only. Luckily I was referred to an oncologist who started me on chemotherapy right away. After eight cycles of this chemotherapy a scan showed a more stable disease. I am now on my 4th line of treatment (cisplatin and taxotere) having progressed on both Tarceva and Alimta.
        
I’m aware that I have an incurable disease and that the aim of treatment is to give me a better quality life than I would have had without treatment  All treatment decisions are made with that in mind. However, th e two most important things to me are that I continue to work and am able to participate in my children's lives. I love and enjoy my life to the fullest and plan to keep doing so for as long as possible.”
- As told by Lisa Woody, M.D. Lung Cancer Survivor


Leslie Lehrman, age 65

My name is Leslie Lehrman and I’m a 65 year old never-smoker with non-small cell lung cancer. My doctor’s tell me the lung cancer is “inoperable,” incurable.” I was diagnosed in 2005 for primary lung cancer through a yearly CT Scan that my doctor advised because of uterine cancer which I was diagnosed with in 2003. I then had a complete hysterectomy in 2003. Therefore, it was only by accident that the spot in my lung was found. I had a wedge resection.

The thoracic surgeon felt he had gotten all the cancer, but did say it was possible that there could be some cells remaining. I went to my oncologist a month after and he chose to watch and test on a regular basis. I have often wondered if I had undergone treatment at that time if things may have turned out differently. I guess we will never know, but since going through so many tests, seeing so many doctors, etc. I have learned that you have to be your own advocate. Wish I had realized that sooner and not put my faith totally in only one doctor’s opinion.

Follow up CT Scans and Pet Scans showed that the cancer had returned so I went into surgery for the removal of my left lobe in January of 2007. I was informed that the cancer had spread to some of the lymph nodes. There was a spot deep in my chest which was inoperable. After a needle biopsy, they determined that this was cancer as well. So again I started the chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

I just have to say in closing that I’m very saddened that there is not the funding or the screening tests such as the CT Scan and chest x-ray (which has been removed from yearly exams) for lung cancer patients. Also, the stigma of smoking needs to be removed. While I never wish anyone to get breast cancer or any kind of cancer for that matter, I am, I guess hurt that even though there is a month that is for lung cancer (November), I’m not sure many realize that or that if there is even a color.

All I can say is that I’m grateful to all of those who have tried to make a difference where lung cancer is concerned. I am very proud of my daughter, Jennifer Windrum, who started the “WTF”(Where’s the Funding) for Lung Cancer? campaign to increase awareness and funding in a unique way, to say the least! I do have to say, her use of “WTF?” is “mother-approved.” I am thankful for all the organizations and foundations who continue to work so hard for all of us “LC-ers.”

I am not ready to give this battle up yet. There is just too much to live for.

Joe Linnertz ,

My name is Gloria Linnertz and I lost my husband, Joe to lung cancer caused by radon.  When my husband, Joe, was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2005, we asked the oncologist what could have caused it.  He said smoking and radon gas.  We didn’t know what radon gas was.  Joe lived only six weeks after his diagnosis.  Joe was a gentle, brave, faithful and courageous man and decided he didn't want the chemotherapy and would let God take him when He was ready. Joe was my light and my strength. Two weeks after his death, I prayed to God to give me a reason to live—a purpose for my life.  It was one month after his death that I discovered that we were living with high levels of radon in our home for 18 years.  

Our home tested 11.2 pCi/L, and we have lived in this house for 18 years. The house has now been mitigated and tests at 1.1 pCi/L.  If we had just known about this silent killer; and if someone had told us of its deadly power and how easy it is to test and mitigate, we would have done it. Only a test can determine if you are living in a high level radon environment, and-often-only a test can determine if you are living with early stage cancer 

I knew no one should ever buy a home that had high levels of radon, and I knew there had to be a law to prevent this.  As a result, together with my representative and American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists, the Radon Awareness Act was passed in Illinois in 2008.  I devote my life to educating our citizens and legislators—state and federal—about the deadly power of radon-induced lung cancer.  Thousands and thousands of people will protect themselves from this silent killer—radon.  That is Joe’s legacy.   I will dedicate the rest of my life to radon reform and education. 

*Gloria is VP of CanSAR - Cancer Survivors Against Radon  and we thank her for sharing her story.

Annabelle Buckner, age 32

I was 32 years old, a non-smoker, and training for my first beginner triathlon when my nagging cough began a year in the fall of 2008. I just started teaching second grade and I attributed this cough and other flu-like symptoms to being around (20) eight year olds on a daily basis.  After numerous doctors’ visits I was told that I had pneumonia but was sent to a specialist anyway "just in case."  After a scope and biopsy which collapsed my lung, I was told that I had Stage 3B cancer.  I had a primary tumor and the kicker was that the cancer cells were in my lung fluid as well. It was like being hit by a truck.  My dad was also battling cancer and my family was devastated.  The doctors' attitudes were bleak which didn't help either. I have since been on Tarceva (which didn't work), radiation, chemo consisting of Alimta and Cisplatin and now I am on Alimta for maintenance.  Due to another biopsy to test for genetic mutations, my lung has collapsed again and I recently had my third chest tube removed.  My tumors (now a total of 3) remain the same size but the good news is that I am seeking the help of new doctors on the cutting edge of researching genetic mutations.  We are all keeping our fingers crossed that I am a mutant :)   and that I can take advantage of a clinical trial! 

31 year old male, anonymous

*John (name withheld per request from family), a never smoker, was diagnosed with NSCLC in June 2009. He was a very healthy, athletic, hard working 31 yr old guy. Shortly after Christmas in 2008 he had come down with what we thought was a cold and cough. The cough was persistent and he had put off going to the doctor until February when he felt pain in his chest.  An x-ray was taken and he was falsely diagnosed with pneumonia. He went back to the doctor for another chest x-ray and was given the same diagnosis and another round of antibiotics. A few weeks later he was feeling pain all over his torso area and back. He was referred to a pulmonary specialist who took a CT Scan but he also confirmed pneumonia. When we asked the specialist why he would be having pain in these odd places and how it could be related to pneumonia, he just told us that it was probably because it was rubbing against the lining of the lung, which has a lot of nerve endings.  A few more weeks and he finally had a bronchoscope done. The specialist was thinking he had some type of fungal infection so that's what they were checking for. After the procedure, the doctor came out and told me that he didn't see anything abnormal but they wouldn't know anything for at least another week. The specialist told us that nothing had come from the specimens they had taken from John's lung. They told us the pain in his back was muscular-skeletal and probably from stress. They prescribed muscle relaxers and percocet.  Finally, in the beginning of May, we went to another doctor and his wife was 9 months pregnant with his second child. The new doctor came out and told us pretty much the SAME thing the previous specialist had told us. He didn't see anything abnormal and didn't suspect any cancer or anything life threatening. His belly was hurting so bad one night that we took him to the ER where they did an ultrasound and found some lesions that were in the bones. They thought that maybe the problem was in the bones and not in the chest so they brought in an oncologist. Finally, the last resort was to cut into his chest and do an exploratory. And that's where they found the tumors in his left lung. His wife says that she will NEVER understand how these could have been unseen by numerous x-rays, 3 CT scans with contrast, and 2 bronchoscopes. He was finally diagnosed with Stage 4 NSCLC on June 3, 2009. His fight came to an end on November 30th, 2009 at the age of 32. *John is survived by two children and his wife.

 

 

Other Faces of Lung Cancer who have an important message for you:

Shelley Kroll

My name is Shelley Kroll, I used to live in New York.  In 2004, I was diagnosed with an Auto-Immune disease called Psoriatric Arthritis.  My doctors told me I should live somewhere warmer.  My family and I relocated to Florida. 
In November 2007, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Lung cancer, the day before Thanksgiving was the day I had the surgery to have my upper left lobe of my lung removed.  I went through the Chemotherapy and Radiation (chemo once a week and radiation everyday except Saturdays and Sundays.)  While they did the surgery, they paralyzed my left vocal cord.  That to me was bad, because I was hardly able to talk and when I did talk, I sounded like Elmo from Sesame Street.  I didn't care, I was above the ground.
 
It has been almost 3 years since I was diagnosed.  They tell me they got it all and I have only a 7% chance of ever getting it back.  I thank the Lord every morning when I wake up.  I still have problems but I am so grateful it is not cancer related.  Or so they say.  I'm not sure.  But I live, and I live for my family and my 16 year old daughter, who are the most important people in my life.  
They have done everything for me, when I was healing and still to this day, always say how are you feeling today.  It means so much to me.


Please remember that Lung Cancer is the number 1 killer in I think the world.  Please don't smoke, I did, it didn't do me any good.  If you do, try and quit, if not for yourself then for the people that love you.  This disease not only affects you, it affects the entire family. Thank you for reading my story.

Eldon Grove, age 35

Eldon passed away on June 18, 2009 - 7 months after he discovered he had a 4 cm growth blocking his upper right bronchial in his lung. His cancer was so aggressive - nothing seemed to reduce the tumors. It proceeded to his adrenal gland, to the brain, liver, and stomach. Eldon was a light smoker of less than a pack a day. His daughter just turned 5 on October 5th, 2009. Here are some of his words of what he felt as he learned of his illness:

From Eldon's Journal:

As a Stage 4 patient, there is no cure. There is only treatment. Surgery and radiation are not an option (which sucks because those yield better results.) I have scheduled my first chemo session for Monday at 9AM. I will have another 3 weeks later, and then will be evaluated for the impact of the chemo. As in almost all of 1st regimen chemo treatments, there will most likely be tumor shrinkage and a positive result. Assuming that is true and once it is confirmed I will have a 3rd and 4th session of chemo, again each being a one day treatment 3 weeks apart. I will then be reevaluated. According to Dr. Einhorn, (Lance Armstong's Oncologist) most of the time at this point the evaluation is neutral; the cancer really doesn't respond and although it's not better, it's isn't worse. If that is the case, then that's it. I just have to wait it out and go back in every 2 months and be reevaluated until the cancer wosens or spreads. SUCKY. If by chance treatment 3/4 are responsive, I will have a final 5th and 6th treatment. But then that is it. Wait and revaluate. SUCKY.
The one super tiny bright spot is that in about 5-10% of chemo treatments, patients will respond in what Dr. Einhorn called a "spectacular" fashion. This means the cancer has really been impacted and shrunk to nothing. He said this is rare to happen to a Stage 4 patient, but if it does, they would reconsider surgery and possibly radiation. He said not to get my hopes up though.
So my reality is basically that I will be having a treatment to help me live as long as possible. The average life span of a Stage 4 patient after 1st treatment is 14-15 months. My chance of being alive in 5 years is about 5%. This firm reality dosage just made my heart crumble. For a month now I have heard a clock in the back of my head - "tick tock tick tock." Today it became 10 times louder. I am so numb I haven't even really had a chance to feel yet or grieve. I know that we all die at some point and time, some of us unfortunately earlier than others. Confirming I was going to be a lot earlier today was just.......well, sad.
Sorry to be Dougie Downer, and I know a lot of you will tell me there is always and I know a lot of you will tell me there is always hope, and there are cases out there of success and survival. I do know this, and I still plan to fight. But for now I just need a day or two to let this soak in. I need to feel that sadness, that fear. I need to think about how my time with my family and friends is limited. I need to think about how I probably won't get to even see my daughter finish elementary school. And what is she going to do without her daddy? What did she do to deserve this?

-Submitted by his mother, Claudia Ridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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