Written by Nicole Famularo

My mom’s cancer story started in July 2013, although, we came to find out much later that the tumor had probably started to develop years prior to her diagnosis.  My parents, my four siblings, and I went to Sandbridge in Virginia Beach, it was our ‘happy place.’  I distinctly remember towards the end of the trip my mom having labored breathing walking from the beach to the house or bending down to pick up something someone dropped.  This wasn’t normal for her but she insisted she was fine so we drove home to Connecticut and went back to work.

The next week my dad called to tell me that he took my mom to the hospital because it was getting more difficult for her to breathe.  They took two liters of fluid out of her lungs, ran scans, and found the tumor.  We were all devastated when we found out it was malignant.  It seemed like the bad news kept coming when we found out it was stage IV and it had metastasized to her brain and hip bone.  How could this happen to our mom?  She was 52 years old, exercised and ate well, and never smoked a cigarette in her life. Her workplace and our home were immediately tested for radon, which could be an environmental cause of this type of cancer.  Both were negative; my mom was simply unlucky. It didn’t make sense.

After having her tumor tested we found out it was a mutation in the EGFR protein that caused the cancer.  This was ‘good’ news because there was a targeted drug regimen that would fight this kind of tumor.  Just one pill a day.  But because the cancer metastasized, my mom went through radiation treatments and eventually lost all of her hair.  My mom never complained about what she had to do.  The faith and hope my mom had throughout having cancer NEVER wavered.  Thanks to our faith, science, and our wonderful doctors and care team, so many wonderful moments and memories were made with my mom in the next six years.  We celebrated graduations, weddings, birthdays, and more trips to Virginia Beach. We participated in GO2 for Lung Cancer’s Philadelphia event together in 2018.  More than anything, we cherished each moment.

My mom was kind to everyone she met.  She made small talk with cashiers.  She drove four hours to me in Philadelphia to help me pack for yet another move.  She rescued animals that became part of our family. She would do absolutely anything for her family.  She was a loyal and good friend.  She was generous.  She was the best. My mom went through two different drug regimens, two clinical trials, and then finally chemotherapy for six years until she passed away on July 10, 2019.

Her story won’t ever end with her passing.  Our family’s participation in GO2 for Lung Cancer’s Philadelphia event is thanks to my future sister-in-law who was involved with volunteering at the event in 2015. We have been a part of Team Connie ever since.

I participate because I miss my mom so much and do not want anyone else to feel this way.  More research needs to be done for more targeted therapies that could have cured my mom’s cancer. GO2 for Lung Cancer has been a wonderful support system for my mom, my family, and myself.

The most important thing to my family and me is to keep my mom’s memory alive.  Fundraising each year brings together a lot of family and friends that gives them a way to honor her life and memory.

Join Nicole and Team Connie at our 2021 Philadelphia event, or find an event near you.