When I was younger and heard the words lung cancer, I always associated the words with smoking. When my oncologist walked in the room and said you have stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer that completely changed my thought process. I was 33 years old, in good shape and had never smoked a day in my life. I could not figure out how or why this was happening to me, and neither could the oncologist. We racked our brains to try and figure out where this came from and up until this day, we still don’t have an answer. I immediately thought that I was going to die especially after hearing that it’s stage 4. The worst part about my diagnosis is that it was during the peak of the pandemic.
I wasn’t really allowed to have anyone come with me to my appointments, hospital visits or even treatments. My treatment plan consists of chemotherapy and immunotherapy once every three weeks. For the first week 12 weeks it was bad but once the stronger chemotherapy was replaced with a lighter one, things started to get better. Hopefully a miracle will happen, and the cancer will one day disappear. My life has completely changed, and I am a different person because of this diagnosis. I am a passionate advocate and always raise awareness. I want to share my story with the world with the hopes that people learn about this terrible condition and realize that stage 4 is not always a death sentence.
Mental health is also extremely important. I was so focused on the physical aspect, I completely forgot that mental health could affect my emotional, psychological and social well-being. I struggle a lot mentally and was advised to seek help from a therapist.
I Got This ...
By Natalie Brown
February 2022
Rad o n
Sage Grouse
Sage Advice
Wise through reflection and experience. b archaic : grave, solemn.
2 : proceeding from or characterized by wisdom, prudence, and good judgment sage advice.
26