Sarina Logan is 41 and was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in 2018. Thanks to the urging of family friend and GO2 for Lung Cancer Co-founder Bonnie Addario, Logan had comprehensive biomarker testing. The finding that her cancer was EGFR positive (exon 19 deletion) led her to the medication she’s on today—and into remission. We talked to Logan about the advice she’d give to her younger self, how she maintains positivity, and how she’s found support as a person with lung cancer.

If you could go back to when you were first diagnosed, what would you tell yourself?

The one thing I would recommend to myself: Take each thing as it comes. It’s so overwhelming and daunting in the beginning, and it’s scary. Ask as many questions as you can. You are going to be your best advocate.

None of this made sense to me, so I ended up doing a lot of research on my own. The first thing that you can do that will help  is to ask as many questions as you can. None of us are doctors, and we don’t have the capacity to know how to deal with a cancer diagnosis because it’s such a scary thing, especially at a young age. Your advocacy is going to help you process everything.

How do you maintain positivity?

I think my positivity comes from knowledge. The more we know about what’s happening to us, the easier it is to maintain a positive mindset because we’re actively doing something to advocate for our own health. The more I know, the more positive I can be about it because I can say, “Look, I’m going through this today, but I know that I’m actively doing something every day to make it better.”

I stay positive because I have hope that there’s going to be a cure. But, for now, my hope is in the medication that’s keeping me alive—and that’s enough.

What are some of the ways you’ve found support?

I am lucky because Bonnie Addario has known me since I was about four years old. After calling my parents to say, “Hey, I have lung cancer,” she was my second phone call.

The best thing you can do to help process a diagnosis is to advocate for yourself.  You don’t have to be a super advocate, but just reaching out and realizing that you are not alone. Know that there’s nothing that you’re going through that somebody else hasn’t gone through somewhere. Or you can help, because when you say, “Hey, I went through this,” someone else is going to read it and know they’re not alone. And that helps.

GO2 for Lung Cancer exists to “empower everyone and ignore no one” so that no one is ever alone in understanding and managing a lung cancer diagnosis. We are here for you and your loved ones. Please contact us today via our HelpLine and free support services.