If you have spent any time in GO2’s online support community, HealthUnlocked, you have likely come across posts, advice or support from a member who calls herself “Denzie.” Denzie volunteers as a dedicated moderator, welcomes new users, answers questions and provides encouragement and comradery to others who are also living with lung cancer.
Denzie is the username of Denise Cutlip, a stage 4 (IV) lung cancer patient who celebrated an incredible 13 years of survival at the end of 2023. Since her diagnosis, Denise has dedicated herself to learning and sharing as much as she can about lung cancer and its evolving treatments and therapies. She is committed to educating and supporting others who have also received a lung cancer diagnosis.
Serving as a moderator on HealthUnlocked gives Denise the opportunity to share her deep well of knowledge about lung cancer with those seeking advice or clarity about their own diagnosis and treatment. She also acts as a beacon of hope to others on the site by sharing her personal story of survival and beating the odds after receiving her diagnosis over a decade ago.
In honor of Denise’s ten-year lung cancer anniversary a few years ago, she wrote a post in which she shared that her sister refers to her as a unicorn because surviving stage 4 (IV) lung cancer for that long is so rare. But not only is Denise alive, she is thriving! She travels often; surrounds herself with family and friends; shares her optimistic outlook in person and in online communities like HealthUnlocked; and wishes for continued good health for everyone who is also living with lung cancer.
“My greatest hope on this anniversary is that many of you join me achieving this mythical status,” she shared. “I hope that so many of you achieve this status that we no longer have mythical status. That we become the norm rather than the outliers. There are other unicorns out there and I’m thrilled to have met them. But I want to see more.”
HealthUnlocked is a health-focused social network, open to anyone with a connection to lung cancer, and includes two GO2-hosted communities. The first, “Lung Cancer Support,” serves as a virtual support and community space where users introduce themselves, connect with others who are experiencing lung cancer, and ask questions about anything from treatment to side effects to coping mechanisms to other users, like Denzie, as well as to GO2 staff experts. The second, “Small Cell Lung Cancer Support” serves a similar need for people who have received a small cell lung cancer diagnosis and their caregivers.
Both can be joined by registering with HealthUnlocked and then searching for either group under the “Find a Community” section of your Hub. After you join, please introduce yourself by posting a little bit about your experiences so we can welcome you and begin to get to know you. We can guarantee that you’ll see posts or replies from Denize and that you will come to know her as a trusted source within the community. And, if you are like Denzie, and you want to use a fun username rather than your real name, that’s fine too!
We look forward to meeting you there.
To learn more about Denise’s lung cancer story, check out this conversation with Denise and her sister Jan.
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