Historias compartidas

On February 12, 2021, I was diagnosed with stage three squamous lung cancer. It impacted my life in many ways.

“Portia, I want to do this.” These were the exact words from my mother (Sharonne L. Lopez) as she handed me the flier from the counter.

It began when my primary physician ordered a CT scan to determine why I was having pelvic pain.

My name is Sam Akers, and I reside in Augusta, Georgia, with my wife and daughter, who is in her first year at Georgia Southern University.

My lung cancer journey began on December 8, 2018 with a cough.

Had my Dad, Leon Lee Wheeler, survived his NSCS lung cancer diagnosis, he would have turned 84 on March 1st.

My name is Jennifer Chikoyak. I have spent the last 18 years working to educate my fellow Alaskans about the health harms related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke because of my Grandma Shirley.

My lung cancer story starts with me being born to a mother who smoked during pregnancy. I was exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke up to the age of 18.

I was a healthy mother of three, a wife, a Navy veteran, and a practicing Nurse Anesthetist of 37 years. My life abruptly changed on November 17th 2017. While at work I developed chest and neck pain. 

When something bad happens to someone you love very much, it becomes personal. When my 77-year-old mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009, lung cancer became personal for me.

During the COVID surge, the hospital where Debbie worked had finally received their low dose CT scan which was delayed for several months.

I have been a lung cancer advocate for three years after losing my sister Kimberley, a non-smoker, to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in July 2020.

My mother died of lung cancer at the young age of 44. I was only 10 years old when it happened and I recently turned 44 this last month.

I am a 61-year-old disabled woman living alone in a second-floor apartment. I have several pre-existing health conditions including high blood pressure, sleep apnea, obesity and diabetes.

About 7 years ago I was diagnosed with asthma. Every time I am exposed to personal use products like hair shampoo, body wash, lotions or cleaners like clothes detergents and the like I start coughing within about 15 minutes.