Donnita Butler’s journey began in the countryside of Maine. She grew up in a small town and attended a three-room schoolhouse with nine grades. The family’s water came from a hand pump in the kitchen, and the outhouse was reached through the woodshed off of the kitchen. Life was simple, but it was a different time. Back then, smoking and drinking were just part of the culture. Everyone did it. As a teenager, she followed the crowd.
When she left Maine to join the military, she never imagined how those early years would shape her health decades later, or that one day, a lung cancer screening would save her life.
The Triple Whammy: Asbestos, Radon, and a Smoking History
When Donnita first joined the Air Force as a hydraulic mechanic working on B-52s, asbestos was everywhere, yet few understood how dangerous it really was. She recalls that when the brakes were being rebuilt, the fibers filled the air in the shop, swirling everywhere as the work was done.
Later, she joined the Navy and worked in IT at the old Navy Annex near the Pentagon. This was another asbestos-filled building. Plastic sheets were all that separated her and her colleagues from the “mitigation” work happening behind the walls. In hindsight, it is clear those sheets offered no real protection.
She also grew up in a radon-heavy region of Maine and, like many of her generation, had a smoking history. Decades later, she came to see those three exposures, asbestos, radon, and a smoking history, as what she calls her “triple whammy.”
A Life of Service and Never Quitting
Following her time in the military, Donnita continued to serve as a civilian IT professional, first for the Navy and then for the Army. When she retired, she had an impressive 38 years of combined military and civil service. By then, her children were grown, and she was blessed with two beautiful grandchildren who became the light of her life and her reason to stay healthy and strong.
As she settled into retirement, Donnita filled her days with hiking, paddling, community work, and adventures with her grandchildren. Life was rich and full.
Her persistence carried into every part of her life, especially when it came to health and prevention. She had learned long ago that taking charge of your own care can make all the difference.
Fighting for Lung Cancer Screening
Even after quitting smoking, Donnita was well aware of the risks she carried, the triple whammy. So when she learned that her health insurance covered lung cancer screenings, she took action and asked her doctor for one.
She was shocked when he pushed back. She had expected support, not resistance. Her doctor questioned whether it would even be covered. Donnita stood her ground, got the screening, and it came back clear.
But something about the experience left her uneasy. She came to dread appointments with her doctor. Eventually, she stopped seeing him except for medication refills or minor issues.
Five years passed.
A New Doctor, A Life-Saving Discovery
Donnita eventually switched doctors and found a team that listened. They heard her history and her concerns, the triple whammy. This time, when she asked for another lung cancer screening, there was no hesitation. But this scan was different. The very same day, she got a call. They had found a nodule, and she was instructed to see a pulmonologist immediately.
Within days, she had a PET scan. The results showed it was likely adenocarcinoma. Her pulmonologist sent her straight to a thoracic surgeon, who decided to remove the nodule robotically.
During surgery, pathology confirmed it was non-small cell lung cancer, adenocarcinoma. When the full pathology report came back, it identified the stage as 1A2. Fortunately, her lymph nodes were clear, and the margins were clean. She did not need chemotherapy or radiation but would be followed closely to ensure no further evidence of disease.
Advocating for Biomarker Testing
Despite the good news, Donnita still had questions. She advocated for herself by requesting biomarker testing, but both her surgeon and cancer center refused, saying it would not change her treatment plan.
Donnita had done her research and understood how critical biomarkers could be for future options. She did not give up.
Through The White Ribbon Project, she connected with others in the lung cancer community who encouraged her to keep advocating for herself.
That is how she found herself sharing her story as a panelist at the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable, helping raise awareness about screening, stigma, and patient empowerment.
She was connected with a physician at Johns Hopkins who facilitated the testing. Donnita did indeed carry a biomarker, KRAS G12C. While it was not the biomarker needed for that particular trial, it was empowering to have that knowledge.
It became clear to her just how easily patients can be left without options, not because treatment does not exist, but because they are not given the right information in time. Knowledge is power.
Building Stronger Patient-Doctor Relationships
“I was a little nervous about going back to my doctor because I had challenged him, right? I had gone outside of what he had said, and I just grew up in the school where you did not do that sort of thing.”
She eventually returned to her surgeon and shared what she had learned. She explained how the test could have changed things. He listened. They had an honest conversation that actually strengthened their relationship.
Today, she is still under his care. In fact, he called her recently, asking her to speak to another patient facing the same surgery she had undergone. She was honored to say yes.
Celebrating Life at 70
This year, Donnita celebrated a milestone birthday when she turned 70. She marked her two-year cancerversary by hiking to McAfee Knob, one of Virginia’s most iconic peaks. Last year, she did the same for her one-year cancerversary.
Every step reminds her of how far she has come, from that small schoolhouse in Maine to the mountains of Virginia.
Donnita is not sure how she will celebrate her third cancerversary, but she knows it will involve adventure and gratitude. These days, she is often on the road in her conversion van, exploring trails, campgrounds, amusement parks, beaches, playgrounds, and pools with her grandchildren. They are her greatest joy and her reason.
Through it all, she continues to share her story to raise awareness, change the public perception of lung cancer, and help smash the stigma that still surrounds it. As she reminds others,
“It’s not your grandfather’s lung cancer. There is so much hope now.”
Surrounded by her grandchildren and the adventures they share, Donnita lives each day with gratitude for how far she has come and for the life she continues to embrace.
I’m using my lungs to advocate
As a member of LCFA’s Speakers Bureau, I’m advocating for research and raising awareness through the media, embodying hope and action.
View Speaker Profile