What's in a Date?

August is a very momentous time for me. August 11, 2015 was the date I found out I have adenocarcinoma, non small cell lung cancer. Then I found out it was inoperable and incurable on August 14, 2015. This is the date I use as my Cancerversary date. Cancerversary~ the anniversary date of my lung cancer diagnosis.

Monday is my 2 Year Cancerversary. I really never thought I would still be alive today. The odds are against me, but I'm beating those odds every day, every hour.

I don't have too many not so amazing things to share over the last year. But the one thing is a fairly major concern. I was NED ( no evidence of disease) for approximayely 6 months. In October 2016 we started monitoring tumor growth activity in my upper right lung lobe. I had two blood biopsies to see if my cancer had developed a new mutation that is resistant to my current treatment. No information came back from the blood biopsies. I had a needle biopsy in May 2017. The biopsy was unable to collect a good sample and my lung clasped. A clasped lung equals my first overnight hospital stay.

I had radiation to this new tumor and I'm continuing with my current chemo pill/targeted therapy. Now we'll monitor this activity and see if the radiation did it's job.

One thing I must mention. We have lost many prominent people and advocates in the lung cancer online/social media community over the last year. These are people, putting themselves out there to educate, support and change the face of lung cancer. Every new death is a hard blow. They are missed terribly. I will continue advocating in their memory for much needed research to manage and end this terrible disease.

So many amazing things have happened to me since August 2016. These are just some highlights.

• I have my own beer! I was able to attend the keg tapping party in Dayton, OH for Lisa's Luck Amber Ale.
  
• I worked with the American Lung Association and participated in an award winning video to educate and spread  information about the importance of tumor testing.

• I shared my story at the Denver Lung Force Walk.
  
• I checked an item off my bucket list. I sewed my own dress and entered myself in a pinup contest. I was the first runner up and won prizes.
  
  

• I ran the Run the Rocks 5k and turned 46 in the same week.
  
• I participated in a Lilly Pharmaceutical advisory board and got to meet my lung cancer bff.
  

  
• I entered the Team Draft Lung Cancer Survivors Super Bowl Challenge...and I won a trip to Houston the week of Super Bowl and attended the Taste of the NFL.
  
• Thanks to Do It For The Love, I attended a Social Distortion concert in Denver, was given the VIP treatment and got to meet the band.
  
• Because I was a first time attendee, I was granted a full travel scholarship to Washington, D.C. to attend the Lungevity Hope Summit.

I can't wait to see what comes to me between now and August 2018. With your help I may be able to add Lungevity Hope Summit 2018 to next year's list. Please help me celebrate surviving another year with stage iv lung cancer and make a donation. If I reach my fundraising goal, I can qualify for a full travel scholarship, attend the summit and spend time with my long distance lung cancer friends.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

How Lucky Am I?

"How lucky am I?" I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I've said that since my August 2015 lung cancer diagnosis.

From testing positive for the EGFR genetic mutation

to

living within 75 miles of one of the best lung cancer research facilities and oncologists in the world

to

the support of my friends and family and their friends and families

to

having the quality of life I have being able to live with stage iv lung cancer, how lucky am I?

In February 2016 my friend, Todd, asked me to taste test a beer he had brewed in bottles at his home. It was a very good beer. He said he wanted me to name the beer and he would brew it in my honor. After a couple days of brainstorming we came up with Lisa's Luck Amber Ale.

Who gets a beer named after them?

How Lucky Am I?

During the brainstorming sessions, we discussed the possibilities of using Lisa's Luck Amber Ale to spread lung cancer awareness. We also talked about maybe donating a portion of the proceeds to lung cancer research. But there are licensing issues and liquor laws that keep home brewers from producing and selling their beers, even if it is for charity.

It was brewing talent, not luck, that brought Lisa's Luck to life. Earlier in the year Todd submitted his Lisa's Luck Amber Ale entry in the Fifth Street Brew Pub's Homebrew Beer Contest. He won. Lisa's Luck Amber Ale was produced on a large scale.

The Lisa's Luck Amber Ale Tapping Party was on Saturday, September 17, 2016. My friends and family donated money to buy me a round trip ticket to fly from Colorado to Ohio to attend the event. I was able to meet some of the Fifth Street board members. They said how much they liked the beer, commented on Todd's brewing talent and added, they didn't know the lung cancer back story until after Lisa's Luck won the competition.

.

It was meant to be.

During the event I was able to share my story and make an announcement that I will be entering the Team Draft Lung Cancer Survivors Super Bowl Challenge this winter. This is a friendly competition among football fans that are surviving lung cancer while raising funds for lung cancer research. First place is a trip to the Super Bowl. Second is a trip to the Pro Bowl. Third place is a trip to The Taste of NFL.

Proceeds from the Fifth Street Lisa's Luck Amber Ale event will be the first donations to my Cleveland Fans Against Lung Cancer Campaign. The beneficiary of my donations will be the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

Lisa's Luck Amber Ale is now available, for a limited time, at two Dayton area locations, Fifth Street Brew Pub in Dayton, OH and Sea Jax Tavern, in Kettering, OH. We heard news of interest from another Dayton area brew pub also.

What's better than drinking great tasting beer? Drinking great tasting beer for a great cause!

How Lucky Am I?

Just My Luck

Since my lung cancer diagnosis there has never been, why me? When talking about my lung cancer, the words, luck and lucky have come up over and over.

• How lucky am I to have a genetic mutation?
• How lucky am I to live in Colorado, so close to University of Colorado Cancer Center and possibly the best lung cancer doctors in the world?
• What luck to be diagnosed just weeks before the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Denver and I was able to register and attend a session.
• How lucky am I to have a beer dedicated to me and brewed in my honor?

That's right! My own beer! My friend, Todd Greiner, is behind this. He made a home brew. I taste tested it in April 2016 during a visit to Ohio. That is when the beer was, I don't know how to say it, 'gifted' to me. He said he wanted me to name it. He would brew the beer in my honor and portions of the proceeds would go to lung cancer awareness and research fundraising. After some brainstorming, we had a name. Lisa's Luck Amber Ale was created.

Todd entered Lisa's Luck in a brewing contest. He won! Fifth Street Brewpub in Dayton, OH is brewing 14 kegs of Lisa's Luck Amber Ale. It will be available on tap mid September.

Todd brewing the first batch of Lisa's Luck Amber Ale

at Fifth Street Brewpub on August 18, 2016

The beer will make it's debut at the Lisa's Luck Tapping Party and fundraising event on September 17, 2016.

Click HERE for details and to RSVP.