Mothers Against Lung Cancer: Strength, Hope, and Advocacy

“One of the biggest questions when my treatment plan was laid out was, ‘How is my kindergartner going to get to and from school and her after-school activities?'”

Stephanie recalls, as kindergarten was only half-day in her area. The logistics of daily life became an immediate concern as appointments and treatments filled her calendar.

Finding External Strength

Despite often hearing “you are so strong” from well-meaning supporters, Stephanie acknowledges that her strength came largely from external sources—her family cooking meals, her in-laws helping with transportation, and her mother driving from Ohio to stay for each round of chemotherapy, and her husband researching her diagnosis.

“Progression-free survival means that we can volunteer at our kids’ book fairs because we’re not in the hospital. It could mean being at the class Halloween parties because we’re not getting chemo, or even just being able to pick up the kids after soccer practice. That’s not just memories made, but it’s the solid participation in our children’s lives that progression-free survival gives us.”

Honest Conversations with Children

When explaining her diagnosis to her daughter, Stephanie used age-appropriate language: “I told her that there was something in my lung that was making me cough, and the doctors took it out so that I wouldn’t cough anymore and it wouldn’t keep getting bigger.”

As her daughter has grown, so have their conversations about cancer. Stephanie encourages her daughter to come to her with questions, especially if she hears about cancer elsewhere, so they can discuss similarities and differences between situations.

Finding Hope for the Future

Despite the challenges, Stephanie finds hope in the passionate advocates and medical professionals dedicated to lung cancer research.

“I see doctors early in their careers who have so much zeal for lung cancer and finding a cure… I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re really having breakthroughs that are going to be really exciting for the lung cancer community.”

Honest Conversations with Children

“I’ve heard of some people that were diagnosed who didn’t want to tell their kids at all. But I found that it’s best to be honest with them,” she shares. “I think it’s scarier for them not to know because there are days you’re going to be not feeling well or, in my case, possibly having surgeries and going through chemo.”

Lysa emphasizes the importance of family counseling, especially for younger children, to help them navigate and process a parent’s cancer diagnosis. This professional support can make a significant difference in how families cope with the emotional challenges that come with cancer.

Intergenerational Advocacy

Lysa’s experience with lung cancer ignited a passion for advocacy that she’s now passing on to her children. “I’ve actually taken my daughter to quite a few events, and I brought her to D.C. to help me get more research funding,” Lysa explains.

Her advocacy work sends a powerful message to her children: “Sometimes you have to fight for what you need. It’s important to speak up for people who can’t. I just always try to be hopeful that we’re going to have a better future. And it’s up to us to make a little bit of noise sometimes and to fight for that.”

The Importance of Accepting Help

One of the most valuable lessons Lysa learned was the importance of accepting help from others—something that doesn’t always come naturally.

“When I was first diagnosed, sometimes you don’t know what you need or what kind of help you need,” she reflects. “My mom would just come over and make food or help me do laundry. My mother-in-law came and stayed with me for a while, and she would clean my house.”

These weren’t things Lysa would have asked for, but they made a significant difference. “I encourage people, if you need help, let them help you or ask them for help. It’s so hard for us to do that sometimes, but it really does take a lot off your plate so you can just focus on getting better and feeling better.”

Looking Forward with Hope

As Lysa prepares to welcome her first grandchild, just weeks away from this interview, her focus remains on creating a better future through advocacy and cherishing every moment with her family.

“I’m about to be a grandma, so that’s all I can think about—how many things need help in this world right now, so it can be a better place for him,” she says with a smile.

For Lysa and her family, making memories together has become a priority. “We’re huge about taking trips and making memories together. That’s become more of a focus.”

A Diagnosis and a Dream

A trip to the emergency room led to an unexpected discovery: a tumor in her lung.

When Yovana was diagnosed, her thoughts quickly turned to her future.

“I met with the oncologist and I said, ‘I’m 35, single, no children. But if that’s in my future, I would love to have that and I would love to experience that,'” Yovana recalls.

Because her cancer was caught at stage 1B, her medical team decided on surgery followed by observation rather than additional treatments.

That decision would later prove life-changing. Nine years cancer-free, Yovana is now the mother of a one-year-old son named Thomas.

Knowledge is Power

For Yovana, understanding her diagnosis was crucial to making informed decisions about her future. After her diagnosis, she consulted with a genetic counselor to understand what her cancer might mean for any future children.

“I realized, do I pass on this defective gene that caused lung cancer in me? And what do I do if we have children?” she remembers wondering.

The genetic counselor provided guidance that brought both clarity and a plan: her son could decide as an adult whether to be tested, with screening recommended beginning at age 25, ten years before Yovana’s own diagnosis.

“As Thomas is growing up, he will know that when he’s 25, it would be recommended that if he chooses to, to start getting screened,” she explains. “Hopefully, by that time, in 20 years, there will have been tons of progress on the research, and he’ll not have to encounter anything related to lung cancer. That’s the hope.”

Finding Strength in Family

When asked about her greatest source of strength during both her cancer journey and motherhood, Yovana points to her faith and her sister, who stepped into a maternal role after their mother passed away.

“My sister kind of took on that role for me during my diagnosis, and she’s been a great example to follow now that I have my own child,” Yovana shares. “She’s definitely on speed dial when something comes up with my baby. As a first-time mom, you question everything. So it’s either the pediatrician or my sister.”

Raising a New Generation of Advocates

For Yovana, advocacy has been an important part of her lung cancer journey, and she hopes to pass that legacy to her son.

“I would like him to know that anybody with lungs can get lung cancer,” she emphasizes. “I want to make sure that the bias that is found in lung cancer patients, that stigma that’s associated with smoking, he will hopefully never relate to because of my own experience and because of my involvement with advocacy.”

She smiles when she adds, “I feel like I kind of gave birth to my own little advocate, so he can continue the advocacy after.”

Trusting Your Body, Finding Your Voice

One of the most important lessons Yovana hopes to share with others facing health challenges is the importance of self-advocacy.

“Nobody knows your body better than you do,” she states firmly. “If you feel like something’s not right, go get it checked out. And if you’re feeling one way and you’re bringing this up to your medical team, and they are not taking that into consideration, at the end of the day, the doctors, the nurses, the providers, they work for you. “Sometimes doctors don’t know best. Your voice matters in your medical care.”

Yovana’s perspective was shaped by her own experience. Two years before her lung cancer diagnosis, she had a tonsillectomy and experienced unusual symptoms afterward that her doctor dismissed. After her lung cancer surgery, those symptoms disappeared—suggesting a possible connection her doctor had missed.

A Message of Hope

For those diagnosed with lung cancer who worry about future plans for motherhood, Yovana offers encouragement based on her own journey.

“Never lose hope. There’s always a possibility. You can dream it, pursue it,” she says. “There are definitely different avenues to motherhood. There is no one way or one size fits all. So just be open to that possibility.”