*June 2024*
Lung Cancer has taken yet another bright light from our world: a beautiful soul. But it can never take away Ivy’s impact on countless lives, a testament to her strength and resilience that continues to inspire us all.
Ivy was diagnosed with stage IV EGFR-positive lung cancer in December 2013 at 47 years old. Although a devastating diagnosis, Ivy thrived for 10 years and was keenly aware that she was on the cutting edge of research and alive because of these advancements, benefitting from innovative research and treatments that emerged just when she needed them most. While grateful for the advancements in treatment, Ivy was not comfortable without a complete understanding of her disease, treatment plan, and prognosis, so she decided that she needed to become as educated as possible to advocate for herself. Ivy’s desire to learn as much as possible transformed her experience into a mission and fueled her passion for advocacy.
As Ivy became more involved in the lung cancer community, she soon recognized that many others weren’t as well-informed about lung cancer. She felt that she needed to help them as much as she could. Ivy became a pillar of support and a source of wisdom for countless individuals worldwide. Her profound impact, changing lives in a mere moment by sharing knowledge and instilling hope, will continue to inspire countless lives.
What started as a few opportunities to share her story and raise awareness led to Ivy developing an interest in the science of lung cancer, and again, her desire to learn as much as she could lead to her becoming a powerful research advocate. Ivy and I would always say that a cancer diagnosis ends someone’s career, but for us, we just built a career within its confines!
Pioneers of research and progress are acknowledged in published articles on the big stage at conferences, awards, and other accolades. However, patient advocates like Ivy, demand better treatment, ask difficult questions, and push researchers, institutions, and companies to ‘do better’ and change how research is approached.
Ivy was a relentless advocate who embodied the essence of patient-centered research and care by serving as a consumer reviewer for the Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program, reviewed grant proposals for ASCO’s Conquer Cancer, and was an advocate faculty for the ASCO/AACR Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop. Her mentorship for the AACR Scientist-Survivor program and the IASLC STARS program, as well as her service on the Yale SPORE and the University of Chicago Community Advisory Board, were testaments to her commitment to ensuring that future patients would benefit from the advancements she fought to support.
Ivy also played an integral role in starting and growing the EGFR Resisters group. In 2017, along with 6 others, Ivy co-founded the EGFR Resisters Patient and Caregiver group, a community dedicated to supporting those affected by EGFR lung cancer and accelerating research to make it a manageable chronic disease. Ivy’s tireless dedication, inspiring leadership, and collaborative spirit drove our growth. In fact, in just five years, our community has raised over 1 million dollars to fund patient-driven, patient-funded research, which Ivy was most proud of because not too long ago, patients’ only role in research was participating in studies. Thankfully, Ivy could see and celebrate just a few days before she died that The EGFR Resisters had surpassed the fundraising goal to fund two new research projects.
Beyond Ivy’s role as an advocate, Ivy was a loving wife, a proud mom, and a dear friend to many. Ivy’s strength, resilience, and sense of humor were truly remarkable. Ivy could light up a room with her infectious laughter, magnetic personality, and effervescent smile. Her spirit was indomitable. Her spirit made many believe that, despite Ivy’s prognosis, she was full of life, so there had to be some treatment in the pipeline that would be approved in the nick of time; there always was!
Ivy and I had the privilege of advocating together, traveling the world and across the states to conferences, programs, and speaking opportunities. One of our friends humorously nicknamed us #Jivy, a name that stuck and perfectly captured the spirit of our friendship and work. We worked hard to disrupt paradigms and provoke change, but we played just as hard. We laughed a lot, but we also shed our share of tears. We never gave up and always believed that nothing, not even Lung cancer, could defeat the human spirit.
Join me in raising a glass or eating a piece of chocolate for Ivy (she liked a glass of good wine and chocolate). If you wish to donate to Ivy’s tribute fund, you can do so here.
