Renee Marrero survived lung cancer | radon | a breath of hope lung foundation | thoracic surgery

DESCRIPTION

Prior to being diagnosed with lung cancer, Renee Marrero already had an acute awareness of the disease.  That’s because her sister was diagnosed in 2016, her father in 2017.  Renee’s sister underwent a target therapy regimen, which initially seemed to control her tumor growth; but her father, a smoker, died just six months after his diagnosis.  She encountered some resistance, but Renee was able to get a CT scan, and in July 2017, it revealed a spot on her upper right lung.  In December, she underwent thoracic surgery to remove two small tumors.

Renee Marrero enjoyed an active lifestyle with her husband and seven children in White Bear Township, Minnesota; but she thought she should get a CT scan after her sister and father were diagnosed with lung cancer.  A target therapy regimen was able to limit her sister’s tumor until the cancer spread to her brain after which she soon passed away in 2020.  Renee’s sister was a non-smoker, but her father did have a smoking habit, and he died about six months after he was diagnosed.  Renee’s CT scan showed a spot on her upper right lung.  She wanted another scan taken, but needed to wait three months.  That scan again showed the spot on her lung, confirmation she had multifocal lung adenocarcinoma in situ, a form of non-small cell lung cancer.  Renee could have done some more waiting, but at the time, with kids at home, she felt she needed to be proactive.

The surgery was successful, but was quite painful as the procedure went through her ribs, which manifested itself anytime Renee wanted to laugh.  After the surgery, she had to stay home for six weeks to recover, and to deal with pain, which she said was worse than childbearing.  She was also concerned about taking pain medication, and the possibility of addiction, but she followed her doctor’s instructions and thankfully off the meds in about a week.  Only two months after the surgery, Renee took part in a stair climb going up 30 flights of stairs in downtown Minneapolis to raise money for lung cancer research. 

Renee still yearly followup visits, and is active in advocacy work for those diagnosed with lung cancer and their caregivers. 

Additional Resources:

Support Group:

A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation   

https://www.abreathofhope.org

Reading Material:

Let Your Life So Shine by Julie Dawn Carr (Renee’s sister)

TRANSCRIPT

Jim Foster:  Hello, and welcome to the @CancerInterviews podcast.  I’m your host, Jim Foster, and if you find the information in today’s episode to be helpful, then we invite you to please subscribe to our podcast and our YouTube page by clicking on the links below.  If you click the bell, you will be notified when we post a new episode.  On this segment, I have the honor of introducing an amazing woman from White Bear Township, Minnesota, who was diagnosed with, and survived, multi-focal lung adenocarcinoma C-2, also known as non-small cell lung cancer.  It is our hope that you will find her story both informative and inspirational.  So please join me in welcoming Renee Marrero to the show.  Renee, welcome to Cancer Interviews.

Renee Marrero: Thanks so much.  Glad to be here.

JF: Here at Cancer Interviews, we like to start by getting to know more about you.  So please tell us about your pre-cancer life, where you are from, what your interests are, that sort of thing.

RM: I grew up in Minnesota.  I have lived here my whole life.  I am one of three daughters, with an older sister and a younger sister.  I have a very big family.  I have been blessed with three children, and an additional four children as I got married two years ago.  So, we have seven children together, and enjoy time with them, camping outdoors, we live right across from a lake we go kayaking on and paddle boarding, so we have really been blessed.

JF: That sounds wonderful.  We have been thinking about getting some kayaks and some standup paddle boards, so I’d love to hear more about that.

RM: The kids enjoy them, and sometimes, they get too many on one paddle board and then they like to jump off into the lake, so they just have a great time.

JF: How would describe your lifestyle and overall health in your years prior to your diagnosis?

RM: I really had no major health issues, but I do have high blood pressure, as it runs in my family, and have had it for over 15 years.  It is controlled with medication, but other than that, I exercise, not as frequently as I should, but running and other things, so I have an active life.

JF: How many children did you have when you were diagnosed?

RM: I had three children.

JF: Were there any changes or symptoms to lead you to think something might be wrong with you?

RM: Mine was an unusual situation in that the reason why I learned I had lung cancer was because of my dad and sister.  So, lung cancer came into my life when my sister, a never-smoker, was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer in 2016.  This was a shock to all of us because before that, you’d think of lung cancer as just smoking causes that, but she had always been healthy.  But this was Stage 3 and it quickly moved to Stage 4 when it moved to her brain in January 2017.  She was not able to get her lung surgery done because of the brain tumor, so that was devastating to know because it had moved so quickly.  She was lucky to find that she had an EGFR mutation, which meant she could be on target therapy.  That was a blessing because a lot of people can respond well to that, and it seems to control her tumor growth.  But then shortly after that, in the spring of 2017, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer.  He was a smoker, so unfortunately, he passed away just six weeks after his diagnosis in 2017.  So, when my dad was diagnosed, my older sister said I and my other sister should get scans, CT scans.  We both asked our physicians and they said ‘no’, claiming it was highly unlikely that we have it, and that we shouldn’t worry about it.  But when my dad passed away, I again pursued being tested for lung cancer, and my physician said I should talk to my dad’s oncologist.  She was a wonderful lady and was surprised he had gone so soon, but he did have other health issues, so it was difficult, but said she would get me tested.  So I was very fortunate to have gotten a CT scan because I am learning as I got more involved with the lung cancer community that many people with risks such as radon in their homes are not being allowed to get a CT scan, so I underwent the scan in July of 2017, and they found a small spot in my upper right lung.  That was the same exact spot where my sister’s and dad’s tumors had started.  My big thing is to research, so I looked into it a little bit more.  Fortunately, a lot of people have what they call ‘nodules’, which is what this was.  That’s part of the concern with giving too many CT scans because they turn up so many nodules that are really nothing to be concerned about.  But given the history in my family I was concerned, I learned that the location of the nodule being in the same place as two other family members, meant it could be malignant.  So, I pursued a second opinion, but they asked me to wait six months before another scan or any other further diagnostics.  So when I did the second followup, they said to wait three months, and I liked not having to wait as long because the problem is if the nodule is not malignant, the only thing they could do was a surgery, and obviously that’s a big deal, but I knew I needed to find out quickly because I did not want this to spread.  So, I had to wait three months to find out, so in October 2017 I had to wait for my repeat scan, and the nodule was still there.

JF: Was your scan three months later a result of the second opinion?

RM: I did go with the second opinion because my coverage included Mayo Clinic (in Rochester, Minnesota), which is only 90 minutes from my home, so I figured why not go to one of the best places in the world.  So when I went there in October for the repeat scan, they again told me I could just wait and watch because typically these are slow-growing, but obviously with my family situation, that wasn’t an option and with my three young children, I just could not wait and watch, as there is so little known about lung cancer, and about how quickly it can spread.  That’s a big thing I am involved in an advocating for now.  Anyway, in December I had the surgery, and they removed two small tumors.  They found the second one hiding behind the first one, but it hadn’t spread, so I am one of the fortunate ones to have caught it very early.

JF: What was it like when the doctor told you what the diagnosis was?

RM: For me I felt like I had a slow revelation to this.  My family had experienced it and I knew the devastating impact it could have. When I found out I had it, I had some relief in that I knew it had been caught very early and it was very small, and so I felt very fortunate for that because many people don’t catch it at that very early stage.  I had to get the surgery. I just couldn’t let it get too far.  When I heard I was 100 percent, I also felt bad, knowing what cancer had done to my father and sister when they discovered it so late.

JF: I assume the other sister that underwent the test when you did, that test came back benign?

RM: My older sister was diagnosed with Stage 3, and my younger sister, she was fortunate in that she didn’t have any nodules they were worried about.  She is now going to try to pursue yearly scans, but again, it’s very difficult to get those tests. 

JF: Well, I wish her the best with her preventive followup.

RM: My older sister, who was diagnosed in 2016, she had several different surgeries for one tumor that had metastasized to her neck.  The tumor kept popping up and she had three surgeries, and the last one was in the spring of 2020.  But after the last one, they said there wasn’t much they could do, she went into hospice and passed away on May 29, 2020.  We were blessed in that I am was working from home, and my employer was kind enough to let me visit her because she was in home hospice, so I was fortunate to be with her, as she lived in North Carolina.

JF: That was wonderful that you could be there for her.  As for your diagnosis, were you alone or were you with anyone?

RM: When I learned it, I was in the Mayo Clinic, and my mom and sister were there, arriving before I was done with my surgery.  When it was done, they were cheering me up and we were laughing, which wasn’t easy because after the procedure it was quite painful, as they go through your ribs.  It was so wonderful to have them there, and the news was great from the doctor.  He felt they removed everything that had to be removed, and there was nothing more to be worried about.  He said after the surgery, I need to do yearly followup, but I didn’t need to see an oncologist or anything like that.  But I felt like I needed a bit more, so I did see an oncologist.

JF: Once you found about your diagnosis, was it difficult to share it with others?

RM: I was very open about it, given my sister and dad’s diagnosis, and knowing that with lung cancer, it’s really not something people talk about because there is the stigma of smoking.  My sister and I were never smokers.  That’s the first question you get when you tell someone you have lung cancer.  I feel it is my obligation because I want to get the word out about lung cancer.  It is not just a smoker’s disease.  People need to know it is the number one cancer killer, and it receives the least funding per cancer death.  I had no idea about this before lung cancer came into my life.  I was like most people, not knowing the scope of lung cancer, so I have since wanted to share.

JF: My other career is that I am a real estate broker in Colorado, and I have firsthand experience with radon levels, and I had one client that was an old friend and she passed away from lung cancer.  She was not a smoker, but she previously had had breast cancer and survived that.  Ultimately, she passed after her battle with lung cancer, and I was asked to sell the family home after that.  The buyer did a radon test, and it came in at 32 picocurries per liter per thousand, which is off the charts.  The EPA recommends having a mitigation system installed if your levels are above four picocurries.  Radon gas is a gas that comes up from Mother Earth, through granite and other types of minerals in the earth.  Although it was never definitive, I always felt that radon level led to her lung cancer.  So many people think that would happen to them, but did you ever look into your home, to check out its radon levels?

RM: My mom was no longer living in the house we grew up in, but I have thought about knocking on her door to see about her home’s radon levels, as there are free tests you get.  We had two different homes we grew up, so we feel we might have been exposed, and there is the secondhand smoke from my dad, which could have been a factor.

JF: Getting back to learning your diagnosis, how did you deal with that, emotionally?

RM: I think that when I found out definitively, I think it was a relief to know the tumors were out, but one of the toughest parts was knowing about this only because of my dad and sister, and wishing they could have caught it early.  It is in their honor that I want to spread awareness, to increase someone’s chances of catching it early.

JF: That’s wonderful, and I hope through our visit today, there will be people who will be able to detect something early or do something preventative for themselves or for that of a loved one.  It sounds like you did seek a second opinion.  With your type of treatment, did you have more than one option?

RM: There’s only one treatment as far as surgery, but a second option was that of waiting and watching, that, or getting the surgery right away.  My care team felt that because I was healthy, my choosing for the operation was the best way to go.

JF: When you went to the Mayo Clinic, were you constantly making the 90-minute commute?

RM: Yes, I spent one night there after the surgery, but after that, I commuted.

JF: Before and after the procedure, what changes did you encounter in your work life, your family life?

RM: The surgery did require me to stay home for six weeks, and it was just recovering from the surgery.  It was quite painful.  I had never experienced that level of pain before.  It was more painful than childbearing, because with the pain from the surgery, you don’t know what’s normal.  When I laughed, I didn’t know if I’d punctured my lung.  I called into the doctor quite a bit and they said the pain was normal.  A scary part was taking the pain medication because you hear about addiction, so I was hesitant to take that, but as long you take the precautions, it’s okay and I think I was off them in about a week.

JF: During your entire journey, what would you say was your lowest point?

RM: The lowest point was losing my sister, given that she had an eight-year-old son.  She went through this with such grace and positivity and was such an inspiration.  The fact she is going to continue to inspire people, she wrote a book to tell her story and how her faith in God carried through all this.  It is devastating, but what she was able to do in her time here is inspiring and the faith she instilled in her young son is also just amazing.

JF: That is wonderful you were able to be her caregiver, and can we say the name of her book?

RM: Yes!  It’s called “Let Your Life So Shine.”  Part of the proceeds go to the foundation she wanted to support.

JF: Did you have family members or anyone else who served as your caregiver?

RM: My mom has always been very supportive and helped out, especially with the kids, since I had three younger kids at that point, so as a single mom, it was especially important to have her support in helping them.  Then there was my current husband, who was an amazing caregiver.  I had just met him a month after I found out I may have cancer.  He was so amazing. It was a tough go getting up and down with the pain.  I feel really blessed and feel like my dad was looking out for me after he passed away and orchestrated that so I would have something for me.  I have many blessings.

JF: Regarding your cancer journey, is there anything you would have done differently?

RM: No.  I think in terms of how I pursued it I did the right thing, focusing on what I needed to when I needed to.  Thankfully, it all worked out.  One big thing for people to do is advocate for themselves and do what they can as far as researching and understanding anything they are experiencing as far as their health.

JF: It sounds like your dad really planted the seed in terms of getting you and older sister to investigate the best treatment options.  Now, once your surgery was done, how long did it take you to get back to normal life?

RM: I’d say once the six weeks of home rest was over and I was back to work, then I was back to normal.  I even pursued doing a stair climb to raise funds for lung cancer research.  That was two months after the surgery, and I have done it every year since.

JF: Tell us more about the stair climb.

RM: They do it in downtown Minneapolis.  It’s for the American Lung Association.  They do it throughout the United States.  It’s something like 30 flights of stairs.  It doesn’t take that long.  There are many support groups, including one here in Minnesota called A Breath of Hope.  They do work locally and nationally.

JF: As your job, what do you do?

RM: I have always been involved in research in one way or another, and I have been in educational research for 17 years.  I now work in project research at a hospital, making sure they have all the tools and supplies they need.

JF: Finally, imagine you are speaking directly with someone who has just learned they have cancer.  What would you like to say to them?

RM: I would like them to know that they are not alone, and that no matter what lifestyle choices might have led to that diagnosis, they do not deserve this, and that they deserve the best treatment.  They should know that and reach out to others who can support them. 

JF: Well, Renee, that is amazing advice, and it’s been a real honor to visit with you today and learn about your inspiring journey.  Any final comments before we wrap up the interview?

RM: Thank you for what you are doing at CancerInterviews.com and spreading awareness for people to know that they are not alone.

JF: Thank you so much for being here today and hopefully everybody can take something away from what Renee shared with us, and don’t forget to check the links below on our Show Notes.  And as Renee said, you are not alone, and we wish you the very best outcome on your cancer journey.  So, until next time, we’ll see you on down the road.

Support Groups…

A Breath of Hope Foundation

https://www.abreathofhope.org

Reading Material…

Let Your Life So Shine by Julie Dawn Carr

SHOW NOTES

TITLE: Renee Marrero, Lung Cancer Survivor – White Bear Township, Minnesota, USA

Renee Marrero of White Bear Township, Minnesota, USA, is a survivor of Stage Four non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.  Sadly, she was inspired to investigate whether she had lung cancer after the disease had claimed the lives of her father and a sister.

Despite her never having smoked cigarettes and encountering difficulty getting a CT scan, it was a second scan that revealed two tumors and Multifocal Lung Adenocarcinoma.  The tumors were removed, which forced her to remain home for six weeks.  Renee said the pain was more intense than childbirth, but she survived the cancer.

Renee is an advocate for lung cancer awareness, trying to make it easier for people to get the CT scans that can reveal the disease.

Additional Resources:

Reading Material: Let Your Light So Shine by Julie Dawn Carr (Rene’s sister)

A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation: www.abreathofhope.org

Cancer Interviews: http://www.cancerinterviews.com

Time Stamps:

04:00 When her health seemed abnormal.

10:39 How Renee felt when learning she was diagnosed with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

16:08 Asked if it was difficult sharing her diagnosis with others.

26:22 Renee explains how her treatment affected her family life.

33:00 Asked if regarding her journey with Multifocal Lung Adenocarcinoma, if there is anything she would have done differently.

38:25 Renee provides advice to others diagnosed with cancer.

KEYWORDS (Tags):

lung cancer

jim foster

cancer

renee marrero

cancer interviews

cancerinterviews.com

non-small cell lung cancer

nodules

multifocal

adenocarcinoma

multifocal lung adenocarcinoma in situ