Sadly, LCFA Speaker and lung cancer patient/advocate Gina Hollenbeck passed away on June 12, 2022.
Gina’s guiding principle came from a book she read by Dale Carnegie in which he wrote:
“Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw stars.”
Gina always saw the stars.
Gina was an important member of the LCFA Speakers Bureau. Her work for LCFA included Hope With Answers videos, podcasts, social media, and more. Her work is an integral part of LCFA’s mission to raise the public’s awareness and serve as a resource for patients or anyone seeking answers, hope, and access to updated treatment information, scientific investigation, and clinical trials.
Gina was diagnosed in 2015 after many misdiagnoses. At no point did this busy nurse, and mother of 2, even consider the possibility that her nagging cough, sore throat, and shoulder pain were caused by lung cancer. Through fierce self-advocacy, she got biopsied. The results came back indicating Stage 4 ALK+ lung cancer. Gina recovered like a champ from a rigorous treatment protocol including targeted therapy, the removal of her left lung, and a craniotomy to excise the tumor from her brain.
Gina’s Advocacy Work
Gina was a guest on several episodes of Hope With Answers: Living With Lung Cancer podcast:
- Episode 4 with Gina Hollenbeck
- Finding Your Lung Cancer Tribe: Tips from Patient Advocates
- 8.2 – Getting A Second Opinion: How COVID-19 may be changing lung cancer treatment for the better
- 04 – The Lung Cancer Conversation: How to tell family you have cancer
- How These Patient Advocates Show the Importance of Lung Cancer Research
In addition, she participated in the Hope With Answers Video series:
- Empowering the Patient Voice in Lung Cancer Research
- Valid Lung Cancer Research | Hope With Answer℠
Gina was a participant in LCFA’s #LivingWithLungCancer Social Media Takeover on August 1, 2021 as part of World Lung Cancer Day. She also participated in LCFA’s Satellite Media Tours 2019. In addition, SELF Magazine online featured Gina Hollenbeck in 5 Things No One Tells You About Living With Lung Cancer.
Under her guidance, Gina helped to grown a small, private Facebook group for patients with ALK positive lung cancer into a 1,600 member community. In just over a year, members from around the world raised an impressive $600,000, directly funding three separate research grants.
Read her personal story: Unbreakable: Gina Hollenbeck’s Fight Against ALK Positive Lung Cancer
