Andria didn’t think she would get to celebrate her 71st birthday.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022 and told she may only have months to live. Andria has remained determined, drawing hope from asking, “Why can’t I be one of the 3.2% that survive?” and benefiting from a clinical trial that has seen her cancer remain stable.
Not her first diagnosis
Andria, who is originally from the USA and lived in the UK before calling Australia home, was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was 21 years old.
“I was diagnosed with Stage 3A in 1974 while living in the UK. At that time there was no chemotherapy. The disease had a 90-95% fatality rate, so it wasn’t looking great,” she shares.
“I spent a year in hospital having surgeries and radium therapy and they couldn’t figure out why or how I survived. I remember being the youngest person in the ward and couldn’t understand why I was being made to fight for my life, it felt unfair, but I did it.”
After taking additional time to recover, Andria returned to university, travelled and launched a career in HR working for well-known brands including Holden, Coles Myer and Sigma Pharmaceuticals.
Harnessing hope
When she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022, Andria once again had to put her mind on achieving a goal – survival.
“At first when you’re diagnosed you feel like there is no hope. I had to find hope and being eligible for a clinical trial gave me that.
“If you can give someone hope, it is like winning the lotto.
“I would imagine the treatment as little Pacman characters eating the cancer and would have clear pictures in my mind of what it was going to be like when I got better.”
For Andria, she was advised the clinical trial was her best chance of survival and for now her cancer is, as she describes, “not growing and not shrinking.”
Looking to the future
While Andria says she mostly has good days, and she is focusing on staying healthy and challenging the stigma that comes with a lung cancer diagnosis.
“I don’t know what comes next, but I figure the healthier I am and the better I feel, the better chance I have of fighting it.”
“I tell as many people as I can that I have lung cancer. If we can change the stigma, we can get more money for research and give people hope and longevity.
“I tell people that 30-40% of women who have lung cancer have never smoked. It’s a slow game but one by one we’ll change the perception.”
Paying it forward
It’s these conversations and the hope that current and future research could be boosted by investment from donors, that Andria and her husband generously decided to leave a gift to Lung Foundation Australia in their Wills.
“We wanted it to do something good for this world,” she explains.
“By leaving a gift in our Will to Lung Foundation Australia we can ‘pay it forward’. It is having some good come out of a bad situation.
“Other people’s bequests and donation have contributed to research that has meant I’m able to live now through the clinical trial I was a part of. Imagine what my gift can do for future research and people yet to be diagnosed.”
For now, Andria and her husband are focusing on the things in their future they can control – planning trips in their caravan and enjoying the good days when she can tap into her creativity by sewing and creating cards for friends and family.
Leaving a gift to LFA in your will
Every gift, no matter the size, has the potential to change lives and contribute to a better future for anyone diagnosed with a lung disease or lung cancer. Gifts like Andria’s make it possible for Lung Foundation Australia to advance research, improve the lives of patients across Australia and educate more people about lung health.
For more information about leaving a legacy that will help create a future free from lung disease and lung cancer, contact us or call 1800 654 301 (free call).
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