Stuart Brown

First published: 11/08/2018

Stuart Brown describes himself as a husband and proud father. It took only five months for Stuart to go from being a healthy jogger, to a man living with a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis. “It was a shock,” reports Stuart. Cancer was found in both lungs and some lymph nodes. Despite having a degree in engineering and liking to know how things work, Stuart avoided research about survival statistics. He said, “Everyone was giving me bad news and I didn’t want to confirm any of it.” Eventually, Stuart did receive some good news. He was found to have the ROS1 mutation which made him eligible for new FDA approved drugs that have shown good results.

Stuart has three pieces of advice for anyone diagnosed with lung cancer:

1) Get genetic testing done right away. He says, “It takes awhile to get the results and you will need them to determine eligibility for some treatments.”;

2) Research your diagnosis to become aware of what clinical trials are available to you; and

3) Be your own best advocate. Learn what you can and discuss it with your care team.

Stuart said, “Lung cancer is a disease that anyone can get. Most people I meet who have lung cancer don’t have the traditional risk factors for the disease.” He added, “Screening for colon, prostate and breast cancer is routine and life saving, but by the time symptoms are recognized for lung cancer, it’s usually stage 3 or 4. The criteria for lung cancer screenings is too narrow and unnecessarily restrictive.”

Stuart’s goal is to help get screening figured out and made readily available. Stuart points out that to raise awareness you ‘must say it over and over and over again’. He plans to continue raising awareness. “We need to use the same marketing campaign tactics that Susan G Komen used,” he added.

Sadly, Stuart passed away June 6, 2020 after experiencing severe pulmonary hypertension and progression in his abdomen. Stuart was an incredible advocate and will be greatly missed by anyone who was lucky enough to have crossed his path. 

Make A Difference

Help A Breath of Hope increase awareness, support patients and fund research for the world’s number one cancer killer!

Donate Today!