Don Stranathan

Patient Leader

I was diagonosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer in June of 2009. Since then I have done radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapies and immunotherapy. My girlfriend Penny passed from Small Cell Lung Cancer in 2014, My last promise to her was to advocate for lung cancer awareness and more research. I keep that promise by being a Consumer Reviewer for the Lung Cancer Research Program, sit on multiple survivor boards including Lungevity and moderate support groups on Facebook.

Location

Santa Rosa, CA

Nominations

Finalist

In fighting his own health battles, of which he has had many, Don was a guiding light to my sister, Penny Blume. Penny died in 2014, but I believe Don helped her to a have a quality of life she would not have had otherwise, right until her passing.

While fighting his own health battles, Don reaches out to any and all who ask him for assistance and advise. While my sister, Penny Blume, was alive, he guided her through many issues regarding her disease, small cell lung cancer, and brought quality to her life she would not have had. He is my family's hero.