Let me tell you about my friend Christian: Day 26

Two blogs in less than twenty-four hours! Whoa! As part of Lung Cancer Awareness Month (brought to you by November) I am going to share a little about someone who is very special to me.

I met Christian Nataline five years ago—we were guests of our mutual oncologist Dr. Shaw at a function where she was being honored. I was struck by how young Chris looked and learned that he’d been diagnosed just after turning thirty-one. He’d been married less than a year (to his amazing wife Karen) and was the father of an eight month old. Like me, he was also a mutant—ALK+ and stage IV.

As it would turn out, Christian and I often had appointments in the cancer center at MGH on the same day and our relationship started to grow. As many of you know, there are certain things about this journey that can’t be understood by anyone other than a person who is walking the same path. Like me, Christian has had a wide variety of treatments (which is another way of saying the response/progression cycle). He started out with … read more on Linnea Olson’s blog “life and breath: outliving lung cancer “

Eleven years ago Roz York Brodsky was diagnosed with non-small cell, giant cell, locally advanced lung cancer.  This is a very rare form of lung cancer.  At the time there wasn’t the social media support and people like Peter Jennings and Dana Reeves were dying from lung cancer.  She was terrified.  The upper right lobe of her lung was removed.  She was only 46 at the time.  Afterwards, she began regular check ups.

A year ago, she was diagnosed with stage 1 non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer.  Luckily, it was caught early due to her on-going regular check-ups.  At this point they removed the middle right lobe of her right lung.  She currently has stage 0 but with pre cancer cells in her left lung, so is facing another possible surgery.

Roz has been able to resume a normal life to an extent.  She does have pain issues; her breathing is not the best.  She mainly works from home bookkeeping.  She is also on the Board of Directors for Save Me Rescue and fosters dogs in need.  This is her true passion.  Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors for Lung Cancer Canada, the only cancer organization in Canada solely dedicated to lung cancer patients.  She just turned 57 and is happy to be here.

Something we may not know about Roz is her personality.  She seems like such an extrovert but is really a private person until it comes to lung cancer.  She feels lung cancer has helped her come out of her shell and … read more on Samantha Mixon’s blog Keeping my Faith – Living with Stage IV Lung Cancer 

Jeff McManus – “I used to be a loner before meeting Cara.”

Jeff was a caregiver for his wife, Cara, who passed away in April 2015. She only survived 20 months after being given her stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. They met in 2006 and quickly became good friends. They would have been married for 4 years in June of that year. Jeff confessed to me, “I used to be a loner before meeting Cara. She brought me out of my shell and we started hanging out with friends.”

Jeff has a PhD in biology and works full time in a research lab. He enjoys his work and his coworkers. In his free time he likes playing trivia with his friends, going to Indie rock concerts, and cooking. He and Cara both loved cooking and often made meals together. He also likes to stay active by riding his bike, another fun activity him and Cara did together, lifting weights, and playing basketball.

Jeff became involved with advocacy along with Cara. He raises awareness on Facebook and Twitter to help inform others. Lungevity’s Breathe Deep in Cleveland came about largely due to her efforts. She worked on this project for much of her last year, but … read more on Lysa Buonanno’s Blog “Faith, Family & Friends.”