Lewis did have her home’ s radon level mitigated professionally, and she continues to monitor it regularly. She wishes she had known about radon risk before she and her husband bought their home in 2015. In fact, home shoppers should feel empowered to request radon testing as part the standard home inspection and, if necessary, negotiate the cost of mitigation into the sale price.
As for Lewis’ cancer, it’ s gone. Her fate was not as dire as doctors initially told her. After six months of taking medication only( with harsh side effects), she was declared cancer-free, with no evidence of disease. But she is not cured, and not out of the woods. For the rest of her life, Lewis must take medication daily, and she must have scans and lab work performed every four months.
The whole nightmare has inspired Lewis to take on advocacy work, hoping to protect others from the potentially deadly effects of radon exposure. She wants to share her experience and enlightenment with anyone who will listen. She’ s reached out to media and given interviews, and she hiked 300 miles across France to raise money for cancer research. She even called the Oregon chapter of the American Lung Association to see if she could help spread the word.
Clare Lewis( right) and a friend hike the Camino de Santiago to raise money for cancer research( May 2024)
“ I just said, you know, if there’ s any way I can advocate and help out, volunteer, you know, whatever, that would be great,” Lewis said.“ I don’ t want anyone to have to go through that suffering needlessly.”