Profiles in Lung Cancer - Day 25: Roz York Brodsky, "There is much more hope than there used to be"

Eleven years ago Roz York Brodsky was diagnosed with non-small cell, giant cell, locally advanced lung cancer.  This is a very rare form of lung cancer.  At the time there wasn’t the social media support and people like Peter Jennings and Dana Reeves were dying from lung cancer.  She was terrified.  The upper right lobe of her lung was removed.  She was only 46 at the time.  Afterwards, she began regular check ups.

A year ago, she was diagnosed with stage 1 non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer.  Luckily, it was caught early due to her on-going regular check-ups.  At this point they removed the middle right lobe of her right lung.  She currently has stage 0 but with pre cancer cells in her left lung, so is facing another possible surgery.

Roz has been able to resume a normal life to an extent.  She does have pain issues; her breathing is not the best.  She mainly works from home bookkeeping.  She is also on the Board of Directors for Save Me Rescue and fosters dogs in need.  This is her true passion.  Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors for Lung Cancer Canada, the only cancer organization in Canada solely dedicated to lung cancer patients.  She just turned 57 and is happy to be here.

Something we may not know about Roz is her personality.  She seems like such an extrovert but is really a private person until it comes to lung cancer.  She feels lung cancer has helped her come out of her shell and open up a whole lot more because of the need for more people to speak out.

When asked what she wanted the public to know about lung cancer, she specified the following:  1) by having lungs you are at risk, 2) by having lung cancer, people are being ignored to death (literally), 3) the stigma is totally unjust, 4) it is shameful the way lung cancer patients are treated, 5) there is way more hope than there used to be.

Her hope is derived from her doctors that she’s met over the years.  They are so dedicated.  Her current Oncologist is on the Chair of World Lung Cancer organization and has reassured her they are diligently working towards new treatments, such as immunotherapies.

I asked if she had any suggestions for promoting lung cancer awareness in the future.  We found that we think alike in this area.  If we could find a celebrity that would promote continuously, maybe we could have a chance to stop the stigma.  Right now, so many people are ashamed.

Roz York Brodsky pictured with one of her precious dogs.

Yesterday's post was by Lysa Buonnano at www.lysabuonanno.wordpress.com about Jeff McManus.

Tomorrow's post will be Linnea Olson's blog at www.outlivinglungcancer.com about Christian Nataline.

All profiles can be found the day after posting on the #LCSM Chat blog at http://lcsmchat.com/  A list of links to all the profiles on the original bloggers' pages can be found on the #LCSM Chat site on the Profiles for Lung Cancer Page.