"No One Should Be Alone": A Lung Cancer Advocate's Mission to Keep Her Father's Memory Alive

Katie has spent more than two decades in the lung cancer community — first as a caregiver, then as a patient herself, and now as a professional advocate. Her journey began in 2002, when her father was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, and it has shaped nearly every part of her personal and professional life since.

Today, Katie is based in Dallas and serves as director of online support communities for LiveLung, an organization dedicated to supporting people affected by lung cancer at every stage of their journey.

A Diagnosis That Changed Everything

When her father was first diagnosed in the early 2000s, Katie says the landscape for lung cancer patients and families looked very different than it does now.

"There wasn't a lot of hope or treatment options for people with lung cancer," she recalled, "so we were absolutely isolated and unsupported." At the time, there were few dedicated organizations or support groups for lung cancer patients and their families. Instead, Katie and her father leaned on their health care team — and on resources like CURE.

Finding Connection Through Shared Stories

For Katie, storytelling has always been central to coping with a cancer diagnosis, whether as a patient, a caregiver, or now as a patient navigator by trade.

"Being able to share your story, being able to read stories and relate to other patients, is so vital, because that patient's story is hope," she said. It was through CURE that she first encountered stories that mirrored her own family's experience — stories about people like her father, and eventually, people like herself. Those stories became a bridge to a broader network of connection and support that she says was otherwise hard to find.

Advocacy as a Way to Honor Her Father

Katie's father did not survive his disease, but his impact continues to drive her work today. As a former caregiver turned advocate, she says supporting others in the lung cancer community is a way of keeping his memory alive.

"It's a way to ensure that no one else who's diagnosed with lung cancer is alone," she said. That mission aligns closely with the values of LiveLung, whose founder is a lung cancer survivor. "We just want to let folks know that they're never alone," Katie said.

Walking in Two Sets of Shoes

Although Katie's own cancer diagnosis was not lung cancer, she says the experience of being a patient herself has deepened her ability to relate to and support others in the community.

"I feel like it is our duty as cancer survivors to help pave a smoother way for those that come behind us," she said. "We remember what it's like getting that diagnosis. We know what it's like to be alone — and no one can relate to you other than someone else who's been through it." For Katie, that shared understanding is what makes community connection so essential for patients and survivors alike.

Advice for New Caregivers

Asked what she would tell someone whose loved one — a parent, sibling, or spouse — has just been diagnosed with lung cancer, Katie pointed to a gap she experienced firsthand: while patients are onboarded into a structured treatment plan, caregivers often are not.

"Caregivers don't have that. We don't have a manual or a handbook that tells us what to do," she said. Her advice is simple but direct: "Breathe, and then connect with someone else. Connect with another caregiver. Connect with us at LiveLung."

She describes organizations like LiveLung as a kind of extended family — one built to educate, empower, and inform. "Once you have all the tools," she said, "you're better able to advocate for yourself and for your loved one."

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