Stage 4 Lung Cancer Diagnosis to Advocacy: Bev M’s Inspiring Story

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Episode Transcript

Bev M (00:03):
I was given six months to three years to live, I realized
if I wasn't going to be herevery long.
I wanted to enjoy my life.
My name is Bev and I wasdiagnosed with lung cancer.
I had a lingering cold and felta little off, so I thought I
better book an appointment withmy family doctor.

(00:24):
That appointment changed thetrajectory of my life.

Maureen McGrath RN (00:28):
Good evening and welcome to Nurse Maureen's
Health Show podcast.
I am Nurse Maureen, aregistered nurse, nurse
continence advisor, sexualhealth educator and host of this
podcast.
Thank you so much for tuninginto this segment.
Tonight can almost leave mebreathless.
To be honest with you, I was sosurprised at what I learned
about lung cancer.

(00:49):
Lung cancer remains the leadingcause of cancer deaths in
Canada, with nearly 88 Canadiansdiagnosed every single day.
Alarmingly, over 50% of casesare detected at stage four, when
survival rates are the lowest,highlighting the critical need
for early detection andawareness.
Tonight, I'm honored to sharethe story of a woman whose

(01:10):
strength, advocacy anddetermination are making a real
impact in the fight against lungcancer.
Bev M, a Toronto-based advocate, spouse, grandmother and avid
golfer, knows this realityfirsthand.
Diagnosed with stage four lungcancer in 2019 and given just
six months to live, Bev hasdefied the odds.

(01:32):
Six years later, she is notonly here, she is thriving.
Her journey is a testament toresilience and she is using her
second wind to spread awareness,encourage others to listen to
their bodies and prove thatthere is life after a lung
cancer diagnosis.
Today, Bev joins me to shareher story, challenge

(01:53):
misconceptions about lung cancerand remind Canadians why
proactive lung health matters.
Let's dive in.
Thank you for joining me, Bev.
First and foremost, how are you?

Bev M (02:04):
I'm doing really well, thank you.
I've defied some odds.
I'm very proud of that, and Ilive a very high quality life.

Maureen McGrath RN (02:21):
That's just amazing after a stage four lung
cancer diagnosis.

Bev M (02:28):
That's a good question.
I have a healthcare backgroundand I think that gave me an edge
.
It gave me an advantage interms of focusing on my physical
and mental health, and I thinkthat that's been very, very
helpful.
I have a positive attitudeabout life.
I keep myself very active.
I do a lot of exercise.
As you mentioned in yourintroduction, I golf, so I'm I'm

(02:53):
out there enjoying my life andnot feeling sorry for myself or
feeling sick, if you will, so Ithink that does help.
I've responded really well totherapy, which also is a boost.

Maureen McGrath RN (03:09):
That is awesome, Bev.
Can you take us back to yourdiagnosis?
What led you to seek medicalattention and how did you feel
when you first heard the news?
It's shocking news, really newsreally it was shocking.

Bev M (03:23):
So what happened is I had two colds that lingered for
three to four, five weeks.
They were six months apart.
The first one happened December, early January when it is hard

(03:46):
to track down medical attentionover the holiday period and the
cold was going around the officeso I didn't think as much about
it.
But six months later my husbandand I returned from a European
cruise and we were travelingfour of us traveling together
three of us picked up a coldthat was going around on the
ship, but the other two gotbetter and I had this lingering

(04:09):
cold and I was coughing andcoughing and I had very sore
throat and I thought, aha, maybeI have strep throat.
I'll book an appointment withmy GP.
She'll give me an antibioticand send me home.
Thankfully, that GP was on topof things.
She did give me an antibioticbut because we'd been in Europe,

(04:31):
she thought possibly I'd pickedup a different version of bugs
than what's here in Canada,maybe.
I had pneumonia and she ordereda chest x-ray which revealed
that I had metastatic nodules inboth of my lungs.

Maureen McGrath RN (04:49):
Oh, it just must have been just such a shock
to you, thinking you had a cold.
You're enjoying life, you'retraveling, and what was that
like when you heard and you'rein healthcare, so you understand
a stage four lung cancerdiagnosis.
What was your reaction?

Bev M (05:06):
I've always been really healthy, always really active.
So when I got this news itreally was a gut punch.
My husband and I were togetherin the room when the doctor
informed us.
It was totally shocking.
I know I was in disbelief and Imay.
I just could not imagine thatit was me who had this

(05:30):
devastating disease and thisdevastating illness.
And when they told me sixmonths to three years to live, I
just had had a lot of troubleswallowing that and accepting
that this was really me.

Maureen McGrath RN (05:47):
And it turns out it wasn't really you,
because you're here today totalk to me and I'm delighted and
so happy for you.
Many people associate lungcancer with smoking.
Now I know you told me you'venever smoked, so what
misconceptions about the diseasedo you hope to challenge?
Was that your automaticresponse?
I've never smoked.

(06:08):
How can I have this lung cancer?

Bev M (06:11):
It certainly went through my mind, but I can tell you,
when I told colleagues, peoplearound me, clients I was working
with, I would say 99% of peopleasked me did you smoke?

(06:33):
Or indirectly asked me the samequestion.
So, that is one of the biggestmisconceptions that has to be
challenged.
We tend to think of smoking asthe cause, but there are many
other causes of lung cancer.
There's radon gas, there'sasbestos, there's industrial
exposures such as noxiouschemicals.

(06:54):
With all the wildfires acrossCanada, we're realizing that
firefighters are at increasedrisk.
There's also family history.
People who have lung cancer inthe family.
Sometimes it passes to otherpeople, and my doctor, when I
was trying to understand why didI get this diagnosis, he said

(07:17):
bad luck.
And what I realize now is it'snot uncommon for a gene, when
they're replicating, toreplicate with an error.

Maureen McGrath RN (07:31):
Right, right , exactly.
I also wanted to mentionsecondhand smoke too.
A lot of people grew up withsecondhand smoke and that places
people at risk for lung canceras well.
So I just wanted to make thepoint that you know, we have to
remember instead ofautomatically thinking or asking
, like you said, the questiondid you smoke?

(07:52):
Because I remember that waspart of Dana Reeve, who also
died.
Christopher Reeve's wife diedof lung cancer and you know, I
remember in the documentarypeople asked her, they made a
point and you know, and shenever smoked and but they never
went beyond that.
So I'm glad that you arechallenging some of these
misconceptions.
And lung cancer, basically, canaffect anyone with lungs but

(08:15):
awareness around risk factorsremains low.
What do you think the audienceneeds to know about the causes
and risks of lung cancer?

Bev M (08:24):
So I think it's important that everyone be aware that
anyone with lungs can bediagnosed.
It's not just older people orsmokers.
Young, younger people are beingdiagnosed, and never smokers
are being diagnosed and, withawareness so low, we're not

(08:45):
watching for it.
Related to the younger, thereappears to be an emerging cohort
of people, 50 and younger, likeas young as late 20s, early 30s
, who've never smoked and arebeing diagnosed with lung cancer
, and I coincidentally justreturned from an international

(09:07):
lung cancer conference and oneof the specialists had a label
for this emerging group ofpeople, young lung, young lung
cancer.
Wow, wow, yeah.
So things are changing and Ifeel it's really unfair that

(09:29):
lung cancer is stigmatized withthe association of smoking.
That's old, the new anyone withlungs can be diagnosed.

Maureen McGrath RN (09:39):
Yes, now you talked about getting the
diagnosis and being devastated,and you know giving this six
months to live information, butyou've also managed to find a
second wind after your diagnosis.
So how has your outlook on lifechanged?
And I know you worked inhealthcare and you also worked

(09:59):
in wealth management and youultimately got the best wealth,
which is good health, since yourdiagnosis.
But how has your life changed?
You know, every day that youget up and you know, has
gratitude entered more so thanin the past?
And what does your new purposemean to you?

Bev M (10:21):
So when I was first diagnosed, got over the shock
and started to feel a little bitbetter and my energy started to
return.
I really developed a renewedappreciation for life and it
didn't take long to realize thatlife can go on and it's

(10:46):
possible to live a high qualityof life.
I don't take things for granted.
I savor every moment.
It deepened our relationshipsbetween my husband and I as well
.
What I'm happy.
Initially I thought how can onebe happy with a diagnosis that

(11:19):
doesn't have a good outlook?
But I am and it has made mylife better.

Maureen McGrath RN (11:27):
And I think it's tied to that gratitude.
You know, realizing the gift oflife after it's nearly, you
know, taken from you.
I've heard that from patientsmyself where they say you know,
I never appreciated anything.
Nothing was ever good enoughfor me in my life until my stage
four cancer diagnosis.
And then I realized, you know,I had so much to be grateful for
and I didn't need thisperfection.

(11:48):
You know a lot of people talkabout just a very different
attitude as they move forward inlife after a stage four lung
cancer or cancer diagnosis.
You're passionate aboutencouraging people to listen to
their bodies and you know we tryand get that message out to
people, even as health careproviders.
But what are some of the subtlesymptoms of lung cancer that

(12:09):
people should pay attention to?

Bev M (12:12):
I think it's important, when we're talking about the
subtle symptoms, for people torealize that the lungs do not
have pain receptors, so thesymptoms are very subtle.
When there's pain, it means thecancer has left the lungs.
So things that people should bewatching for or alert to is

(12:33):
excessive coughing.
They could have shortness ofbreath, they could have frequent
and lingering colds, such as Ihave had.
Unexplained weight loss can becommon, but also it can be as
subtle as something feels off.
And I'll give you an example ofa woman I met fairly soon after

(12:59):
my diagnosis young woman, shenoticed on several evenings that
when she lay on a particularside to go to sleep at night she
felt just something was alittle off.
And thank goodness she wasproactive and she had a GP that
paid attention because she wasdiagnosed with stage one lung

(13:23):
cancer.

Maureen McGrath RN (13:24):
Wow.

Bev M (13:25):
Yeah, so it's.
It's very, very subtle and um,we we tend to take our lungs for
granted, and I certainlylearned that we can't do that.
We have to pay attention to ourhealth and we have to be
proactive.

Maureen McGrath RN (13:44):
That's right , and if something is niggling,
you know, think about it, get itchecked out.
No harm in getting it checkedout.
I love the fact that you'veturned your experience into
advocacy.
How has sharing your story andraising awareness impacted you
personally?

Bev M (14:01):
So it has brought me a lot of pleasure, if you will,
and brought meaning to my life.
It gives me a chance to giveback to others who are living
with lung cancer and it just, Ithink, my healthcare background.
It makes me feel good to speakwith fellow lung cancer patients

(14:23):
and try to share stories andhelp each other, offer support,
and it's really important to meand matters to me that I try to
raise awareness.
You mentioned smoking and thatstigma has held lung cancer back
.
It's underfunded, it'sunderprofiled.

(14:45):
So I just feel that I'm one ofa growing number of voices that
has the opportunity to speak outand raise public awareness,
raise funding for lung cancerand try to drive change.

Maureen McGrath RN (15:01):
And you're doing amazing work, and this
year you've partnered with Merckon the Listen Close campaign.
Can you tell the listeners moreabout the campaign and why this
initiative is so important?

Bev M (15:12):
So I was delighted to be involved because we share the
same goal of raising awarenessin the public about lung cancer.
So that's the purpose of thecampaign is to raise public
awareness and encourage peopleto pay attention to their health
, to their lungs, to theirbreathing, to their lungs.

(15:36):
And if something feels off tobe proactive, Don't just oh,
we'll go away.
If something is persistent orthey're worried enough, just
take action immediately and getto their doctor and don't take
no.

Maureen McGrath RN (15:53):
Exactly and because, as we know, one's
breath is the foundation ofone's health and we don't think
about our lungs.
But I also wanted to mentionthat the listenclose.
ca, which is the website forListen Close, you can take a
lung check assessment and learnmore about your lung health.
And I actually went on and didthat lung check assessment and

(16:15):
it even said you know, you havereported no symptoms, you
haven't smoked, but, you know,do have this conversation with
your doctor, and so it's just sogreat to raise awareness about
this.
Merck has also launched a phoneline where people can listen to
lung cancer patient stories,including your own, Bev.
What do you hope listeners takeaway from hearing these

(16:36):
personal stories?

Bev M (16:40):
I definitely want them to be more aware and realize that
even though they maybe neversmoke, they feel perfect health.
It can happen to anybody.
So I want them to pay attentionto themselves, to people in
their life, and realize thatanybody with lungs can be

(17:02):
diagnosed.
Do not take one's health forgranted, and it's really
important for people to bepersistent and proactive if they
feel that something's off.

Maureen McGrath RN (17:14):
And I love the fact that people can talk to
other people or hear otherpeople's stories, because often
times people feel alone in theircancer journeys and they think
why me, you know?
Why hasn't this happened toother people who maybe have
smoked?
For example, somebody with lungcancer might be thinking that
that somebody else they knowlived to 95 who was a smoker.

(17:35):
But, as you say, I think one ofthe key messages of this
episode is that it is notnecessarily associated with
smoking and that has certainlyheld lung cancer back.
If someone is navigating alife-changing diagnosis right
now, somebody out there islistening to this, what advice

(17:57):
do you have for them, who mayhave just been diagnosed, who
are maybe still symptomatic,maybe still getting treatment?
It's maybe not responding allthat well.
What would you say to them?

Bev M (18:09):
I think it's really important that they take as good
quality, good care of theirlife as possible.
So sleep, diet, exercise,drinking enough water are all
really important.
I think it's also importantthat they realize that, just

(18:33):
because they've been given aserious diagnosis, science has
been making incredible advances.
I'm an example, and there aremany others that are thriving
with our diagnosis, thanks toour therapies.
So they should not wallow orfeel sorry for themselves, but

(18:55):
take charge.
This is my life.
I want to live it.

Maureen McGrath RN (18:59):
Don't give up and really be proactive in
rising above it, because it canbe very distressing and
depressing and discouraging,especially when people have the

(19:22):
diagnosis or get the diagnosisfrom their doctor and they might
be shocked by it.
But your advocacy work isadmirable, Bev, I really
appreciate you coming on thepodcast and sharing your story
and I'm delighted that you'redoing well and experiencing such
great wealth at the moment.

Bev M (19:38):
Thank you so much.
I'm really pleased to have theopportunity to speak with you
and to share with others thatthere's increasing hope.

Maureen McGrath RN (19:48):
There certainly is.
There's a life to be livedafter a stage four lung cancer
diagnosis.
Thanks so much for joining thepodcast, Bev.

Bev M (19:56):
Thank you very much.

Maureen McGrath RN (19:58):
You're welcome.
That was Bev M, a Toronto-basedadvocate, spouse, grandmother
and avid golfer, and she wasdiagnosed with stage four lung
cancer in 2019, given six monthsto live.
But she's here today to tellthe story and she's sharing her
story.
She's also advocating for lungcancer in Canada and it's such

(20:19):
important work.
She's also partnered with Merckon the Listen Close campaign.
The website is listenclose.
ca, and Merck has also launcheda phone line where people can
listen to lung cancer patientstories.
So I encourage you if you aresuffering at the moment, if
you've been diagnosed with lungcancer, it's a great option for

(20:40):
you to speak to others who aresharing their stories and can
certainly help you.
And I'm Maureen McGrath.
I'm a registered nurse, nursecontinence advisor.
If there's somebody that youfeel could benefit from this
podcast episode, feel free toshare.
It's available on iTunes,google Play, spotify or wherever
you listen to your favoritepodcasts.
And, as always, thank you somuch for tuning in.

Bev M (21:03):
Despite a challenging diagnosis, ron and I realized
that we were happy and we weresavoring life, and we want to
continue doing that.
I'm happy, I am so grateful.
I'm happy, I am so gratefulthat I'm here two years longer
than was anticipated, and I'mhopeful for the future.

Maureen McGrath RN (21:23):
Thanks so much for tuning in.
I'm Maureen McGrath and youhave been listening to the
Sunday Night Health Show podcast.
If you want to hear thispodcast or any other segment
again, feel free to go to iTunes, spotify or Google Play or
wherever you listen to yourfavorite podcasts.
You can always email menursetalk at hotmail.
com, or text the show604-765-9287.

(21:45):
That's 604-765-9287 or head onover to my website for more
information.
Maureenmcgrath.
com, it's been my pleasure tospend this time with you.
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