LIFE AND BREATH: OUTLIVING LUNG CANCER

Linnea Olson is an artist, writer, and lung cancer advocate. This divorced mother of three was diagnosed in 2005 with stage 1B non-small cell lung cancer (adenocarcinoma with BAC subtype). Initially, her prognosis looked very good and she underwent a lobectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Her blog takes us through her journey as her cancer spreads, she enters a clinical trial, and then as she acknowledges she is going to die from her cancer. The clinical trials have kept her alive thus far.

In Summer: all things must end she speaks of embracing her own mortality, while at the same time actively engaging in the act of living. In her words: “After all, death is really just part of life. You can’t have one without the other.” On a lighter note, her musings are great—for example, what do cockroaches and cancer have in common?

2. The Dude is the Dad
“Big daddy,” as Jim Brown calls himself, is a 48-year-old, husband of 25-plus years to a roller derby champion and father of three amazing daughters. He is battling stage IV lung cancer and chronicling his journey, complete with lots of pictures and treatment information.

3. Gray Connections: Perspectives on Lung Cancer, Brain Science, and Other Stuff
Janet Freeman-Daily was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in 2011 that quickly became metastatic. She has never smoked anything “except a salmon,” and has been in remission since 2013. She’s a fierce lung cancer advocate, speaking at conferences and events and writing about her experiences.

4. Every Breath I Take
This blog by Lisa Goldman goes through her journey with non-small cell lung cancer, which was diagnosed in 2014 after months of being unable to shake off a cough. She blogs and speaks to help raise awareness and education about lung cancer.

5. A Lil Lytnin’ Strikes Lung Cancer
Tori Tomalia is a stage IV lung cancer patient, patient advocate, speaker, and writer who blogs about the journey she has been on since 2013. A mom of three, her blog is organized into five chronological chapters: travel, marriage, becoming a new mom, having twins, and her lung cancer diagnosis.

6. Faith, Family & Friends
This blog by Lysa Buonanno is about living with stage IV lung cancer. Diagnosed in 2011, Lysa is still battling her cancer and blogs about everything from cancer treatments to her family to dates with her husband to lung cancer survivor conferences, all with a positive attitude.