44 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • DECEMBER 7, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Life after lung cancer: How one survivor is fi ghting for others
More people die of lung cancer each
year than colon, breast and prostate cancers
combined. Yet there is still a widely
held belief that it is a self-infl icted disease.
Th e truth is that regardless of age, gender,
athleticism, or overall health, lung cancer
can impact any one of us. Take lung
cancer survivor, Taylor Bell Duck. A star
soccer player who never smoked, Duck’s
lung cancer diagnosis at age 21 came as a
shock to her and her family.
In 2005, she arrived at college expecting
to play for the Division 1 team, but
her health quickly started to become an
issue. She experienced painful numbness
in her feet and recurring pneumonia that
ultimately forced her to quit the sport she
loved. During her junior year, a sharp
stomach pain resulted in a trip to the ER
where she learned that her left lung had a
large mass.
She underwent surgery to remove part of
the lung, and during the diffi cult recovery
she oft en questioned why this happened to
her. But through the support of her family
and encouragement from her doctors, she
came to realize that she survived to be an
advocate for others impacted by the number
one cancer killer worldwide.
“Aft er my diagnosis, I was sad and
angry. I felt like lung cancer had taken
so much away from me and that my life
would never be the same,” said Taylor. “I
never felt more vulnerable than in those
moments. But I came to realize that no
one deserves to get lung cancer, and I survived
to make a diff erence in the lives of
others who have to fi ght this disease.”
Now, Taylor brings inspiration and
hope to others though her work with
advocacy groups and most recently Your
Cancer Game Plan, an awareness campaign
focused on helping people with
cancer and their loved ones tackle the
emotional well-being, health/nutrition
and communication challenges along
their journey.
Th e guilt and blame associated with
lung cancer may prevent people from
talking about their disease and even visiting
their doctors for treatment.
“No matter how a person gets lung
cancer, it shouldn’t impact the care they
get or the empathy they receive,” said
Bonnie J. Addario, lung cancer survivor
and Chair of the Addario Lung Cancer
Foundation. “As the community focuses
on growing survivorship, patient advocacy
in lung cancer has never been more
important. People aff ected by the disease
are in need of reliable information and
resources to help support them in their
journey.”
Your Cancer Game Plan launched earlier
this year with a focus on head and neck
cancer and melanoma in partnership with
leading advocacy organizations and former
pro athletes and cancer survivors,
Jim Kelly and Mike Schmidt. Now, the
program is expanding to off er support,
education and resources to those aff ected
by lung cancer. Th is eff ort is a collaboration
between Merck, CancerCare, Savor
Health, Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer
Foundation, LUNGevity, Lung Cancer
Alliance, Lung Cancer Foundation of
America, and Lung Cancer Research
Foundation.
To hear more about Taylor’s story as
well as tips from other lung cancer survivors
on facing stigma, managing shift ing
family roles and fi nding hope, visit www.
YourCancerGamePlan.com.
Courtesy BPT
It takes two: Battling a devastating lung disease
Th eta Rone and her husband James
have been together, side-by-side, through
it all - from the grade school classroom
to the birth of their two children. Th ey’re
the perfect example of “it takes two” even
when the going gets tough.
In 2014, the couple was just settling
down to enjoy their retirement in
Tennessee, when they received some
daunting news: Th eta had leukemia.
Th e prospects of recovery were pretty
good, but Th eta would have to undergo
a series of sometimes diffi cult treatments.
It wouldn’t be easy, but knowing
James would be there by her side made it
all seem doable.
Th e two teamed up, determined to beat
Th eta’s cancer. Just when they thought
the worst was behind them, a routine
chest x-ray showed an abnormality in
James’ lungs.
“I couldn’t imagine James and I being
faced with a more diffi cult challenge than
fi ghting leukemia, but our strength was
tested again,” said Th eta.
Aft er a follow-up CT scan, James was
diagnosed with the rare and life-threatening
lung disease idiopathic pulmonary
fi brosis, or IPF. James initially thought
IPF was another “old age” problem. But
aft er speaking to the doctor and doing
their own research, he and Th eta realized
the seriousness of his diagnosis and
knew they’d have to team up once again
to take action.
“It was just like what we had faced
before together with my illness, only this
time the roles were reversed,” Th eta said.
“I was determined to be the loving, devoted
caretaker to James that he had been
to me.”
IPF causes permanent scarring of the
lungs and, although it is considered a
“rare” disease, approximately 50,000 new
patients are diagnosed with the disease
each year. Th at’s enough to fi ll a baseball
stadium. Still, awareness of the disease
is low. Worse still, the symptoms of
IPF, which include breathlessness and a
dry persistent cough, are similar to other
more common and recognizable respiratory
illnesses like chronic obstructive pulmonary
disorder (COPD) or asthma -
and, for that reason, the road to an accurate
diagnosis and actionable answers can
be long (1-2 years) and frustrating.
James was lucky to have a doctor who
knew that there are two FDA-approved
medications for the treatment of IPF that
have been proven eff ective in helping to
delay the progression of the disease. Th e
twosome worked together with James’
doctor to develop a treatment plan that
was right for him, and eventually he started
taking the medication Ofev® (nintedanib).
Now the two devote their time to
Boehringer Ingelheim’s OPEN DOORS™
program, a program that specializes in
providing personalized support for those
prescribed Ofev for the treatment of IPF
and their loved ones. Th e couple is thankful
to have received information, guidance
and fi nancial assistance through
OPEN DOORS themselves and are determined
to provide hope and support to
others impacted by this rare lung disease
in return.
James and Th eta remain side-by-side,
determined to make the most of what
life has to off er. As Th eta says, “Just like
everything else in life, we’ll meet it together
with faith and hope, always remembering
to experience joy in every moment.”
To learn more about Ofev® or the
OPEN DOORS™ patient support program,
visit www.Ofev.com.
Courtesy BPT
