In September 2017, Erika Hlavacek was a commercial airline pilot living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two children when a cough and progressively worse back pain landed her in the hospital. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Comprehensive biomarker testing soon identified an ALK+ mutation, and she was immediately put on a targeted therapy. Hlavacek said she was “42 years old, healthy, and felt blindsided.”

Today, Hlavacek is active in the lung cancer community. She founded a nonprofit, yEAHbestlife, to support lung cancer research. She is a consumer reviewer for the Department of Defense’s Lung Cancer Research Program, evaluating research proposals for their impact on people with lung cancer. And she serves on the Board of ALK Positive, Inc. We talked to Hlavacek about her lung cancer advocacy and, of course, living your best life.

What prompted you to participate in the Lung Cancer Voices Summit?

Advocacy has been part of my lung cancer journey. Shortly after diagnosis, I became very involved in promoting the need for lung cancer research. And the last two years I’ve participated in the Voices Summit. When you’re on the calls with elected officials, it’s very much a teaching moment. You are able to help this person understand that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. You can tell your personal story, and see how your voice and their vote directly impacts legislation.

Why would you recommend that people with lung cancer, caregivers, and healthcare professionals attend the Voices Summit?

Because their voices and their stories matter. People need to hear these stories. They need to hear not just from one or two people—they need to hear from the entire lung cancer community the impact that lung cancer has on everyone. Everyone knows someone with lung cancer. People get lung cancer for so many reasons. It’s not just one disease, it’s a multitude of diseases, and it remains the number one cancer killer. Change needs to happen, and unless we use our voices, it’s not going to happen.

Tell us about living your best life.

I started my nonprofit because I wanted to remind people not to wait for a cancer diagnosis to live your best life. We should be living our best life every day. And it’s a way for me to collect money for lung cancer research. All the money raised goes specifically to clinicians and scientists working on projects, or organizations working on projects for lung cancer research. We started during the pandemic, and we’ve raised $30,000 to date. There’s a whole wall on my website of people living their best lives in “Best Life” shirts. Everyone needs a wake-up call. I feel like everyone feels better when they say YES.

You can also say YES and make a difference for the lung cancer community. Share your story and inspire others!