Media gallery of Lung Cancer Foundation of America

Speakers Bureau Members

Laura Greco<br/><br/>Hometown: Albany, NY<br/>Occupation: Attorney<br/>Diagnosed with lung cancer: 2015<br/>Diagnosis: Stage 3a lung cancer<br/>Genetic mutation: ALK+<br/><br/>Laura Greco is determined to fight cancer with everything she’s got, to be here for her children and husband. She has Stage 4 cancer following an initial diagnosis of Stage 3A ALK positive lung cancer in 2015. She was treated and had no evidence of disease for about 15 months, until October, 2016.<br/><br/>Laura might never have discovered her lung cancer had it not been for a serious car accident she and her then six-year-old son survived. At the hospital, she was given a complete body scan that showed a mass in her left lung. With no noticeable symptoms, she nearly forgot to mention it to her PCP in a follow up exam days after the accident as she was recovering from a concussion that left her thinking temporarily fuzzy.<br/><br/>A subsequent bronchoscopy confirmed lung cancer, leading to six weeks of aggressive chemo and radiation at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a two-and-a-half hour drive from her home in Albany, NY. This meant finding an apartment in Boston and taking a leave from her legal work to go on disability. Laura’s law firm was supportive and in January 2017, named her a Member of the firm. <br/><br/>Laura, who never smoked and has no family history of lung cancer, underwent surgery in June 2015 to remove part of her lung and lymph nodes. Thanks to parents, in-laws and her husband, the children were kept on as normal a routine as possible during Laura’s treatment.<br/><br/>Four more rounds of chemo followed and then a period of being disease-free, only to have the cancer come roaring back.<br/><br/> <br/><br/> “I started taking a targeted therapy in October and have had overall really good results-- it reduced the tumors by 75% in six weeks,” Greco said. “Unless we can get advances and figure out how to overcome the mechanisms that cause cancer to spread, I am living with a terminal disease. There are other drugs I can use when this stops working, but eventually my number will come up.”<br/><br/>Laura believes lung cancer is an epidemic no one is talking about, due in part to the stigma connected with smoking. She would like to see research look at combinations of treatments that can lead to lung cancer becoming a chronic versus fatal disease, the way treatment for HIV has developed.<br/><br/> “I can’t control whether I live or die- no one can ultimately- but what I can control is how I react to cancer and what I do to change my circumstance or try. I’ve made the decision to fight and do everything in my power to try to make it.”

Millie Torchia<br/><br/>Hometown: North Merrick, NY<br/><br/>Family: Husband, 3 children<br/><br/>Occupation: Vice President in the financial industry<br/><br/>Diagnosed with lung cancer: June 22, 2017<br/><br/>Diagnosis: Stage IV lung cancer<br/><br/>Gene mutation: ALK+<br/><br/> <br/><br/>Thursday, June 22, 2017 was a lovely, sunny afternoon. I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when my doctor called with the results of tests for a persistent cough I’d had for weeks. I thought it might take another round of antibiotics. My doctor told me I had stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer.<br/><br/>My first response was “How could that be? I don’t even smoke!”<br/><br/>My second thought was for my three young daughters. I thought my life was over and the thing that hurt the most was when I looked into their eyes of my. Of everything I’ve been through these past months, the most upsetting is the thought of my daughters without a mother. I pray to God every day to give me the chance to see them grow up.<br/><br/>This experience taught me: if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer.<br/><br/>My story is also about listening to your intuition. A month before my diagnosis, I started experiencing a persistent pain in my shoulder and a light cough. I went to a nearby urgent care facility for a consultation and pain medication. The doctor on call ordered an x-ray, and decided I had pneumonia that would take a few weeks to go away. I was given antibiotics, but as the days passed, the cough worsened.<br/><br/>After 3 weeks of persistent coughing and continued pain, I made an appointment with a pulmonologist, who ordered another x-ray. The results showed no improvement, and the pulmonologist assured me that I just had a “bad infection,” and that the antibiotics should take care of it. When the cough and pain got worse, he then ordered a CT scan of my chest. I was alarmed and concerned with the discovery of some cysts in my right lung, lymph nodes and lesions in my bones. <br/><br/>I asked my doctor about this, and he said it was just part of the infection, but my gut told me otherwise.<br/><br/>On June 20th, I had a bronchoscopy. Two days later, my pulmonologist called me before he left on vacation to give me the devastating diagnosis of lung cancer.<br/><br/>The next two weeks were the most difficult of my life: going from thinking that I had pneumonia to learning that I had stage IV lung cancer.<br/><br/>Within a few weeks of diagnosis, doctors performed a genomic test and discovered that I have the ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) mutation. We discussed options, and the benefits of currently available treatments. I am now taking Alectanib, a targeted medication, that has helped prevent my cancer from spreading and has even reduced some of the tumors. It has been a miracle and I am extremely grateful to modern medicine.<br/><br/>It has been a very challenging time, but today I am a stronger person. I am grateful to God, my loving and supportive husband, my family, my community, my friends, and my co-workers for all the love, strength, and prayers they give me. This experience has taught me that there are many more good people in the world than I thought.<br/><br/>The outpouring of support I’ve received has helped me realize that I am not alone. I have met others like me, living with the ALK mutation: mothers, fathers, daughters; all non-smokers sharing the same symptoms and feelings as me, sharing their stories, and most importantly, not giving up.

Ahmed Khalil<br/><br/>Ahmed speaks in memory of his father, Nadi Khalil<br/>Occupation: nephrologist<br/>Father diagnosed with lung cancer: 2012<br/><br/>Ahmed Khalil’s father was a hardworking man, a construction worker in Cairo who supported his family through grueling manual labor every day for years. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer during a physical workup for an unrelated issue, and struggled to find treatment. One doctor even suggested not treating the lung cancer at all, concerned that it would be too painful.<br/><br/>But Ahmed’s father, Nadi, was lucky to have his son. Ahmed graduated from medical school in Egypt, and helped coordinate his father’s treatment, including three rounds of chemotherapy.<br/><br/> “If his son was not a doctor, he would not have had optimal treatment, but he got the best treatment because I was coordinating (everything),” says Ahmed.<br/><br/>In addition to helping his father receive the right treatment, Ahmed- now Dr. Khalil- was also helping to support his father and younger siblings, but needed to leave the country to continue his education. He moved to the United States to continue his studies at a research institution. <br/><br/>Nadi continued working in construction, stopping only to receive chemotherapy. He responded well at first, and was was not in pain. After the third round of chemotherapy, however, his lung cancer became more aggressive.<br/><br/>Ahmed looked for additional treatment options, and asked a colleague, a university oncologist, for help. His colleague recommended a course of Opdivo immunotherapy, but the monthly price tag of $11,000 was just the first hurdle. He couldn’t bring his father here to receive treatment, and he couldn’t buy the drug for his father and ship it. He reached out to the LCFA for help, who put him in touch with a Bristol-Myers Squibb representative.<br/><br/>A series of Bristol-Myers Squibb doctors in the United States, Dubai, and Egypt worked together to coordinate getting the medicine to Ahmed’s father, who started receiving Opdivo a month and a half after Ahmed reached out for help.<br/><br/>Despite the efforts of so many, Nadi Khalil passed away in July 2016. Still, Ahmed is grateful he was able to help as much as possible, and continues advocating for lung cancer patients and research in his father’s memory.<br/><br/> “If I wasn’t a doctor I don’t think he would have survived for as long,” Ahmed says. “The message I want to convey is: never give up. My father lived for 4 years after being diagnosed, but he had a good quality of life for 4 years and was not in pain.”

Laronica Conway<br/><br/>Laronica Conway in memory of her mother, Lillie M. Conway<br/>Hometown: Birmingham, AL<br/>Occupation: Public Relations & Communications<br/>Mother Diagnosed with lung cancer: 2008<br/><br/>Lillie Conway was a teacher and guidance counselor in a small rural school in northeast Louisiana for 38 years, until she retired. It was her first job out of college, and she loved teaching and working with her students. <br/><br/>After completing several big projects in the garden one day in 2008, Lillie’s neck felt strangely sore. She went to the doctor to have it checked out, and was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. She underwent chemotherapy, which was initially successful. Genetic testing wasn’t yet widely available at the time, so she was not tested for genetic markers that might have lead to targeted therapies.<br/><br/>By 2011, the cancer had spread to Lillie’s brain and her condition declined. Laronica left her own job to be a full-time caregiver to her mother. <br/><br/>“I spent nine wonderful months caring for my mom and I would do it all over again,” Laronica says.<br/><br/>Lillie Conway passed away in May, 2012 at 68 years old. Today, her daughter Laronica helps raise awareness of lung cancer, the importance of genetic testing after diagnosis, and the critical need for continued lung cancer research.

Lysa Buonanno<br/><br/>Hometown: Henderson, NV <br/>Family: married with 2 children<br/>Occupation: Radiologic Technologist and patient advocate<br/>Diagnosed with lung cancer: 2011<br/>Genetic mutation: ROS1 <br/><br/><br/>Lysa Buonanno had returned to college and had just graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree when back pain that had been bothering her for months forced her into the emergency clinic. She asked to look at the Xrays of her lungs and noticed they were cloudy. She was transferred to the hospital where an MRI and CT scan showed that she had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her spine. <br/><br/>She began a grueling series of surgery, radiation, and chemo and worried about paralysis because of the tumors’ location on her spine. After a year and a half of treatment, genetic testing showed she had a ROS1 mutation, common to only 1% of lung cancer patients- and there was a drug, Xalkori, designed for that mutation. The drug usually only stops tumor growth in patients for an average of one year, but in Lysa’s case it has kept her cancer in remission for over three years. <br/><br/>Lysa remarried in 2008 and has two children. In September of 2016, she will celebrate the 5 year anniversary of her diagnosis with a big party with family and friends. Lysa says, “Statistically, I had a 2% chance of living 5 years so we are celebrating- celebrating researchers for their advancements, celebrating God’s grace, and celebrating time with my family and friends.”

Janet Freeman-Daily<br/><br/>Hometown: Seattle, WA<br/>Occupation: Writer, science geek, retired aerospace systems engineer<br/>Diagnosed with lung cancer: May 2011<br/><br/>Janet Freeman-Daily, MS, ENG, is a writer, science geek, and lung cancer patient/activist who was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in May 2011. Despite two different combinations of chemotherapy and radiation, her cancer became metastatic. <br/><br/>Thanks to information obtained in online patient communities, she arranged to have her tumor tissue tested for newer molecular markers, and found a precision medicine clinical trial that has given her No Evidence of Disease since January 2013. <br/><br/>After applying her MIT and Caltech engineering degrees to a career in aerospace systems engineering and new business for two decades, she now employs her science background to translate the experience and science of lung cancer treatment and research for others. <br/><br/>She co-moderates the Lung Cancer Social Media (#LSCM) Chat on Twitter as @JFreemanDaily, blogs at grayconnections.net, collaborates with researchers, and speaks at medical conferences with the goal of improving outcomes and quality of life for lung cancer patients.

Deana Hendrickson (pronounced “Dee-na”)<br/><br/>Hometown: Los Angeles, CA<br/>Family: mother died from lung cancer and related treatment <br/>Mother diagnosed with lung cancer: June 2012<br/><br/>Deana Hendrickson was galvanized into lung cancer advocacy after her mother was diagnosed in June, 2012. As her mother began treatment, Deana began to see first-hand the disparities between how lung cancer is stigmatized and even funded, in contrast to other types of cancer. Deana mobilized through social media and collected almost ten thousand signatures to pressure the agency that recommends which screenings are covered under Medicare, demanding that an effective lung cancer screening be included as well. <br/><br/>Deana has campaigned for equal funding for lung cancer research after seeing how many younger people were affected by the disease, and how it’s unfairly and inaccurately perceived to be primarily the result of smoking. <br/><br/>“I assumed people did it to themselves,” Deana says, “That cancer was cancer and everybody was the same. I didn’t know that it had anything to do with funding.”<br/><br/>In reality, lung cancer is the second most common cancer among both men and women in the United States, yet it ranks near the bottom in research funding. In addition, lung cancer kills more people than breast, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer- combined.<br/><br/>Deana’s mother died in early 2013. Today, Deana continues her advocacy for lung cancer funding and awareness to honor her mother’s memory.

Barbara H. Marder<br/><br/>Hometown: Annapolis, MD<br/>Family: Widowed, 2 children, 2 grandchildren<br/>Occupation: Theatre and dramatic arts teacher, retired<br/>Diagnosed with cancer: 2012<br/><br/>To look at her, 74-year-old Barbara Marder is the picture of health. She plays golf, loves to swim, snorkel, and kayak. She has traveled extensively to Africa, South America, China, Japan and Spain. Closer to home, she regularly visits national parks throughout the country. She’s involved in theatre groups, her church, book club and bridge club. Barbara is also a lung cancer survivor, diagnosed in 2012. <br/><br/>In early 2012, Barbara visited her a pulmonologist after five months of respiratory infections that didn’t respond to treatment. A biopsy revealed a cancerous growth on the lower lobe of the right lung. The tumor and surrounding lymph nodes were quickly removed, and all margins appeared clear. She elected to have a round of chemotherapy as a preventative measure.<br/><br/>A follow-up CT scan eighteen months later showed a small, tumorous growth on Barbara’s left lung. She met with an oncologist who suggested alternative treatment, including a clinical trial. Barbara decided to enroll in a clinical trial for Nivolumab, an immunotherapy drug. Immunotherapy drugs work by using the body’s own immune system to attack and fight the cancer. Within six months, Barbara’s cancer was in deep retreat. Within a year of starting twice-a-week infusions, there was no longer any sign of the disease. <br/><br/>Barbara continues to work with her oncologist and receives periodic CT scans, bloodwork, and twice-weekly infusions. She will continue on the clinical trial for as long as possible: either the end of the clinical trial or until the drug stops working. <br/> <br/>Barbara spent her career teaching drama and performing arts, in addition to raising two children with her late husband. Barbara donated a kidney to her husband in 1997. She has two grandchildren and lives near Annapolis, Maryland.

Juanita Segura<br/><br/>Hometown: East Chicago, IL<br/>Family: Husband, 5 children, extended family<br/>Occupation: Crossfit studio owner<br/>Diagnosed with lung cancer: Nov 20, 2014<br/>Diagnosis: non-small cell lung cancer, stage 3B<br/>Gene mutation: ALK+<br/>Juanita Segura calls herself “a CrossFit diva.” The fit and active 47-year-old is a certified trainer and was in the process of opening her own CrossFit studio when she was diagnosed with lung cancer in November, 2014. The diagnosis was so shocking that she couldn’t bring herself to research the disease or possible treatments. <br/><br/>Because her cancer was very aggressive, she began chemotherapy and radiation immediately. Juanita did have genomic testing, but the results were delayed by several months. When the genetic tests came back showing that she was ALK-positive and a good candidate for immunotherapy, she immediately began treatment and has shown significant improvement. <br/><br/>Juanita is a tireless advocate for those facing a similar diagnosis through her social media and volunteer work. She encourages anyone who’s been diagnosed with lung cancer to have genomic testing performed immediately and assemble a proactive oncology team.<br/><br/>Today, Juanita is feeling strong enough to fulfill her dream of opening her own CrossFit studio: Region Rat CrossFit in Griffith, Indiana, near Chicago. <br/><br/>Juanita credits her large immediate and extended family and Christian faith with her positive outlook. “I don’t care what faith you are, you’ve got to believe in something and hold onto that faith,” she says. <br/><br/>Juanita is a fluent Spanish speaker, and is eager to share her experience and wisdom about life with lung cancer with the Spanish-speaking community.

Dr. Michael Weitz<br/><br/>Hometown: Woodland Hills, CA / Los Angeles <br/>Family: Wife, 3 sons<br/>Occupation: Emergency room doctor<br/>Diagnosed with lung cancer: 2006<br/>Gene mutation: ALK+<br/><br/>Dr. Michael Weitz is an emergency medicine physician practicing in the Los Angeles area. In the fall of 2006, he went to his internist to track down why swallowing cold liquids was uncomfortable. The doctor thought he might have a pre-ulcer condition, and a scope showed nothing. <br/><br/>A follow-up chest X-ray showed a small abnormality, so Dr. Weitz ordered a CT scan for himself. The lung specialist who looked at the CT scan wasn’t concerned, telling Dr. Weitz he was too young for cancer, and as a lifelong non-smoker, his risk was low. Still concerned that something was wrong, Dr. Weitz pushed for a second opinion. When he was finally diagnosed with lung cancer, he was told he had 3-6 months to live. <br/><br/>Dr. Weitz was treated with chemotherapy and radiation, and his left lung was removed. The cancer spread to his brain and bones, which meant more radiation. He ended up putting together an oncology team that included a university-affiliated oncologist with access to clinical trials, and two additional oncologists to consult with and do testing. Dr. Weitz encourages all patients to get a second opinion when facing a lung cancer diagnosis. “Good doctors embrace second opinions rather than discouraging them,” he says. <br/><br/>Dr. Weitz is now enrolled in his third successful clinical trial, where simple-to-take oral medicines are going directly after the cancer tumors. As a result, Dr. Weitz is a huge supporter of clinical trials. “There is no advancement in research without clinical trials,” he says, “I owe my life to targeted therapies and personalized medicine.” <br/><br/>Dr. Weitz, now embarking upon being a 10-year, stage 4 lung cancer survivor, is back to work these days in emergency medicine. He also works as an advocate for lung cancer patients and for increased funding for lung cancer therapy research. “Keep searching until you find a doctor who can give you hope-- either through clinical trials, or via oncologists who have an affiliation with university cancer centers,” he says, “Our immediate goal should be to turn a death sentence into a chronic manageable disease just as HIV/AIDS has become.”

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About Lung Cancer Foundation of America

LCFA’s mission is the dramatic improvement in survivorship of lung cancer patients through the funding of transformative science, with the ultimate goal of curing the disease. To accomplish this, LCFA will work to raise both the funds and the national profile of lung cancer in order to substantially increase support of innovative and groundbreaking research efforts.

The Lung Cancer Foundation of America's Speakers Bureau is a group of survivors and those whose lives have been affected by lung cancer. Their mission is to spread awareness, information and hope in the fight against the leading cause of cancer death. Bureau speakers are available for interviews with the media.

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