SPECIAL EDITION: LUNGSASK 2024: OCTOBER | страница 5

Kerri Mossing, Saskatoon, SK

Continued on page 6 ...

My name is Kerri Mossing, and I am a real estate agent from Saskatoon. I am a mom to three awesome kids, Liam (20), Avery (18), and Joren (15). This fall, I married my partner Trevor who has two great kids of his own. I was diagnosed with Stage 2 lung cancer in 2019 at the age of 41. Being someone who had never smoked, this came as an incredible shock to me and my family.

About a year prior to getting sick, I had developed a persistent cough. I talked to my doctor, and we thought it might be related to my seasonal allergies. I was prescribed an inhaler, which seemed to help at the time. In the summer of 2019, I had symptoms of pneumonia prompting my doctor to order a X-ray. The X-ray showed what was thought to be a significant infection in my right lung. I was prescribed an antibiotic and told to return for a follow up x-ray in four weeks. Three weeks later, I was feeling significantly worse and was coughing so much that I could not eat or drink. I went back to the doctor, and they sent me for a follow up X-ray. I received a call very quickly that day and was told that this did not seem to be only related to pneumonia, and that a CT scan and shortly thereafter, a PET scan were ordered. The PET scan showed that the spot on my lung was very worrisome, and a biopsy was ordered. After the (very painful) CT guided biopsy, my surgeon called to say that cancer had been found and it was believed to be stage 1.

A surgery date was set to remove the lower lobe of my right lung. Unfortunately, during

the surgery, it was discovered that the cancer

had invaded some lymph nodes in the area and the tumor was larger than they had initially thought. At this time, it was deemed Stage 2B and I was referred to an oncologist who told me chemotherapy would be the next course of action. I endured four rounds of chemotherapy at the Cancer Clinic in Saskatoon which ended in February of 2020. I have been having scans and X-rays regularly since then, and in early 2025, I will be five years cancer free!

My children at the time were 15, 13, and 10, so it was very hard to have to explain to them that I had cancer. It was a very frightening time for us all, especially once we found out that it had spread, and chemotherapy was prescribed. Going through chemotherapy was very difficult, and as a single mom at the time, it was challenging to be present for my kids while being so sick. Thankfully, I have a wonderful support system of family and friends who could help.

Given that I have never smoked, had no history of being around much second-hand smoke, and had never worked in any environments with high levels of asbestos, radon exposure is highly likely the cause of my lung cancer.

I had heard of radon at a seminar put on by Lung Saskatchewan for realtors about a year prior to my diagnosis. At that time, I remember making a joke to my friend that maybe that's why I was having this nagging cough. After my diagnosis, I immediately connected with Lung Saskatchewan and started my journey of education, awareness, and telling my story.

I tested my current home for radon, and my levels were at 130 Bq/m3. Since then, I mitigated my home for radon because I wanted the radon levels to be as low as possible to reduce my family's risk. I do not know if one of our previous homes was high, but I assume this to be the case, given the cancer diagnosis. I wanted to do anything possible to try to avoid a future diagnosis for anyone else in my home.

I am very thankful to be cancer free today and I am grateful that my cancer was caught early as most people are diagnosed very late. I am dedicated to sharing my story and raising awareness about radon so that more people will test their homes and do what they can to avoid a cancer diagnosis.

I want Canadians to know that lung cancer from radon exposure is preventable. Everyone with lungs can get lung cancer. Testing is easy and reducing radon in your home should be important to everyone. I’d like to see the federal government improve radon awareness and provide more financial support for individuals wanting to test and/or mitigate their homes to help protect Canadians from radon gas exposure.

Watch Kerri’s story from 2019 during her cancer journey (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BQgcL9MC-8&t=2s )

Watch Kerri & Christine’s story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF6p5nKWCdw )

5

A surgery date was set to remove the lower lobe of my right lung. Unfortunately, during the surgery, it was discovered that the cancer

had invaded some lymph nodes in the area and the tumor was larger than they had initially thought. At this time, it was deemed Stage 2B and I was referred to an oncologist who told me chemotherapy would be the next course of action. I endured four rounds of chemotherapy at the Cancer Clinic in Saskatoon which ended

in February of 2020. I have been having scans and X-rays regularly since then, and in early 2025, I will be five years cancer free!

My children at the time were 15, 13, and 10, so it was very hard to have to explain to them that

I had cancer. It was a very frightening time for

us all, especially once we found out that it had spread, and chemotherapy was prescribed. Going through chemotherapy was very difficult, and as a single mom at the time, it was challenging to be present for my kids while being so sick. Thankfully, I have a wonderful support system of family and friends who could help.

Given that I have never smoked, had no history of being around much second-hand smoke, and had never worked in any environments with high levels of asbestos, radon exposure is highly likely the cause of my lung cancer.

I had heard of radon at a seminar put on by Lung Saskatchewan for realtors about a year prior to my diagnosis. At that time, I remember making a joke to my friend that maybe that's why I was having this nagging cough. After my diagnosis, I immediately connected with Lung Saskatchewan and started my journey of education, awareness, and telling my story.

I tested my current home for radon, and my levels were at 130 Bq/m3. Since then, I mitigated my home for radon because I wanted the radon levels to be as low as possible to reduce my family's risk. I do not know if one of our previous homes was high, but I assume this to be the case, given the cancer diagnosis. I wanted to do anything possible to try to avoid a future diagnosis for anyone else in my home.

I am very thankful to be cancer free today and

I am grateful that my cancer was caught early as most people are diagnosed very late. I am dedicated to sharing my story and raising awareness about radon so that more people will test their homes and do what they can to avoid a cancer diagnosis.

I want Canadians to know that lung cancer from radon exposure is preventable. Everyone with lungs can get lung cancer. Testing is easy and reducing radon in your home should be important to everyone. I’d like to see the federal government improve radon awareness and provide more financial support for individuals wanting to test and/or mitigate their homes to help protect Canadians from radon gas exposure.

Watch Kerri’s story from 2019 during her cancer journey (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BQgcL9MC-8&t=2s )

Watch Kerri & Christine’s story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF6p5nKWCdw )