“Erika’s Story” on this website is really “Erika’s Cancer Story.” Since my whole philosophy is to Live Your Best Life, I thought that it made sense to share who I am, since cancer doesn’t define me.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, the daughter of Italian immigrants. My parents came to this country, my mother at 9, my father at 29, and had to figure out a way to survive. They succeeded, raising two daughters, sending them to college, and never having them want for anything.
At a young age I knew that I wanted to be a pilot. My parents paid for me to take an introductory flight when I was young and I was hooked. When it came time to go to college, I only considered aviation, and ended up attending Lewis University near Chicago. I finished school in 3 years, and landed my first job at a small airline called Chicago Express in their dispatch office. I loved everything about working for an airline.
After a year in this position, I left to finish my aviation training, which involved flight instructing in Florida. Two years later, I returned to Chicago Express as a new First Officer. Unknown to me at the time, my future husband, Jeff, was in that same class at Chicago Express.
I spent four great years flying for Chicago Express, eventually moving up to Captain. I was fortunate enough to be hired by Southwest Airlines in 2003. That same year, Jeff, now a pilot at UPS, and I got married and settled in Chicago, becoming city dwellers.
In 2005 I developed an illness unrelated to my later lung cancer diagnosis. This prevented me from flying, and we decided to take advantage of the time to start a family and in 2008 our daughter was born.
In 2009 we had our second child, a son, and I became a full time stay-at-home mom.
When our son was two years old he was diagnosed with autism. This started a journey for us, becoming amateur therapists and autism advocates.
As our kids grew up, we realized that the best situation for them would be in the suburbs.
We have lived in Wilmette for almost six years, and despite missing the city, it has worked out great. When I was diagnosed in 2017, the community rallied around me and continues to do so to this day.
My children are now finishing 4th and 6th grade. My daughter is a conscientious student, loves competitive swimming and is an amazing big sister. If you want to know how to treat someone with special needs, look at their sibling. My son continues to surprise us everyday with his gains. He enjoys riding horses, swimming, running and playing outside. He has a sweet personality that melts the hearts of all who meet him. He says the funniest things and keeps us all laughing.
Since my diagnosis, many things have not changed. The kids still have school and activities, we still socialize and work on projects. But at the same time, many things have changed.
Before my diagnosis, like most people, I thought that only smokers got lung cancer. When I entered this world full of young, non-smoking survivors, that perception was shattered. I realized that you only need lungs to get lung cancer. Nobody is immune, everybody is susceptible. Thousands get diagnosed that did all of the right things, they lived a healthy life style and didn’t smoke. Many are athletes with no risk factors and they still received a lung cancer diagnosis.
Unfortunately, lung cancer research is severely under-funded. Because of the stigma associated with smoking, there is a perception that lung cancer is self-induced and that treatment is not possible. Treatment is very possible, but instead 400 people die each day in the US from the disease.
Can you imagine a stigma that runs so deep that it prevents money going to research, prevents patients from getting diagnosed at an early stage, and keeps newly diagnosed people from feeling worthy enough to receive care? Welcome to lung cancer. It’s time to end the stigma, learn the facts, and start a new paradigm.
I became a patient advocate because of the lack of funding and the need for equal research dollars for the disease. The time has come to fund lung cancer research the same way as other cancers. Lung cancer survivors’ lives are no less important and they deserve equal funding.