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Advocates in Action: Katie Brown
1. Advocates In Action Series
Meet lung cancer advocate KATIE BROWN!
Katie Brown is the youngest of six and was a former paralegal from Texas before she
turned into a full-time inspirational lung cancer advocate in 2002. In September 2002
her father was diagnosed with lung cancer. Frustrated by the lack of information and
support she could find online, “I tried to look for resources and support and I didn’t find
anything local or online available specifically for people affected by lung cancer, ”she
and her husband co-founded the online Lung Cancer Support Community (LCSC), the
first online lung cancer support network in November 2002.Today the online group has
over 10,000 members who offer one another support, encouragement, advice, and
hope.
But Katie didn’t stop with LCSC. She also
became active with the Lance Armstrong
Foundation, GRACE, Research Advocacy
Network, Smoke Free Texas, and CPRIT and
is still active with them today. She actively
seeks out any opportunity to train and
learn from other advocacy groups and
medical professionals.
On November 5, 2006 a member of the
LCSC message boards, Heather Saler, who
had been diagnosed in her 30’s with lung
Figure 1 Katie Brown and her dad, Jessee Deweycancer, coordinated the very first lung
cancer walk. Heather wanted to raise
funds to go toward lung cancer research to find out why someone like herself, without
any risk factors, got lung cancer. At the time, LUNGevity was the only organization
exclusively funding lung cancer research. And so as a result, Katie supported and
volunteered with LUNGevity for many years, later became a consultant for them, and
2. eventually in 2010 became employed by LUNGevity full-time as the Director of Support
and Advocacy. She also manages the Foundation’s social media efforts.
Katie’s enthusiasm and persistence doesn’t just stop with supporting and working with
LUNGevity. Last year she requested a personalized license plate to advertise how much
she despised lung cancer. She applied to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Texas for
a license plate to say IH8 LC, standing for I hate lung cancer. At first she was denied
because of the use of the word “hate” which she abbreviated as “H8.” “I was given the
opportunity to appeal the ruling and I did. I made a case for why I hated lung cancer and
why everyone else should hate lung cancer too! It was a three page document outlining
my personal loss, full of statistics and pictures. I was told off the record that it was the
first time they had ever reversed a denial.”
Katie has a remarkable tenacity to spread the word about lung cancer. She says she
never talks about statistics but instead talks about what she knows and her experiences.
She said that her goal is always to provide support by directing people where to go for
information and to give hope to people by highlighting survivors and their stories.
3. Being a lung cancer advocate full-time can be taxing so we asked Katie how she avoids
advocacy burnout and what her advice would be to someone who wants to do
something small to get involved, but not do advocacy full-time.
LungCAN: What would you recommend to people so that they don’t experience
advocacy burnout?
Katie Brown: I think you need to always remember what inspired you to become an
advocate. In my case it was my dad and the feeling of helplessness and isolation. I never
wish that feeling on anyone and I promised him that I would help others like us.
It can be easy to get caught up in the logistics and bureaucracy of advocating for a cause
or goal. It can also be discouraging at time with many roadblocks and obstacles.
Remember who you’re fighting for and why this cause is so important to you.
It’s also important to balance your life with successes and joys that are unrelated to
your cause. Take mental breaks from advocacy and have adventures or hobbies if you
can.
LungCAN: What one small thing could people do to help advocate for the cause?
Katie Brown: The easiest thing to do is just talk about lung cancer as often as you can.
Tell people about lung cancer and share the facts with them. Dispel any misconceptions
or stigma associated with the disease and let them know that it can affect anyone with
lungs and that we need their support and funding.
Since Katie was a caregiver herself, and since she talks to both patients and caregivers
all day long, we asked her what advice she would give to caregivers who just found out a
loved one had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
LungCAN: What recommendation would you give to caregivers who have just found
out a loved one has been diagnosed?
Katie Brown: There are so many things to consider, but if I had to make a list, here’s
what I’d say:
1. Make lists. Getting the news that someone you love has lung cancer is so
overwhelming. Most of the time loved ones are thrown into the role of
caregiver without previous experience or training. Lists help you tackle the
things that have to be done one at a time so that you aren’t so overwhelmed.
