"I appreciate just every day of being around my family watching them grow and just loving them."
Maureen O'Grady
As stage four lung cancer survivor Maureen O’Grady went through treatment, she faced a choice familiar to others with her diagnosis.
“You can go two ways. You can say ‘No, I don’t want to spend the rest of my days coming to the hospital having infusions. I just want to enjoy the time left with my family.’ And that is fine. For me, I wanted to go in for the fight, and if I hadn’t gone in that direction, I look back and I say I would have missed the birth of my four-year-old grandsons. I would have missed my younger daughter’s college graduation and her upcoming wedding. I would have missed seven more anniversaries with my husband, my 40th high school class reunion.
"Those are insignificant but memorable lifetime moments that to me are everything in the world because when you get a diagnosis and think you may lose your family and you’re not ready to, it’s the worst feeling in the world. So those things are what I appreciate the most, and I appreciate just every day of being around my family watching them grow and just loving them.”
O’Grady received her last treatment in 2012, and her scans remain stable.
As a survivor of stage 4 lung cancer, Maureen O'Grady has learned to enjoy life since being given a second chance. Married for 41 years, Maureen enjoys traveling along with gardening and spending time with her family, which includes twin grandsons.
Maureen is telling her story because she wants to give others hope. Her message to those going through cancer treatment is to stay positive, don’t quit, and be your own advocate.
For more stories on cancer survival, visit WNPR's Survivor Stories.
