Lori Hope
Adversity: Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002
Advocacy: Published her inspiring story and its powerful lessons in “Help Me Live
“It’s almost hard to put into words the feeling of satisfaction and peace and meaning that it gives me to know that I’m helping others along the way.”
Lori Hope discovered she had lung cancer in June of 2002. By accident, really. A healthy 48-year-old communications expert, Lori went to see her doctor about an abdominal concern. She felt a mass and ordered a CT scan. Terrified, Lori waited for the results, then celebrated with her husband when the radiologist assured her it was nothing more than constipation. But just hours later, her doctor called. “The radiologist took a second look,” he said, explaining that there was something showing up on her lung. A biopsy confirmed Lori’s worst fear: she had lung cancer. In the weeks and months that followed, Lori’s world only darkened, as well-meaning friends and colleagues told her stories about their relatives with cancer and asked such questions as, “Did you smoke?” (She had, but quit almost twenty years before her diagnosis.)
With Lori’s filmmaking and journalism background, it’s probably no surprise that she decided almost immediately to share her story, and more specifically, to help caregivers, friends, and loved ones of cancer patients and survivors better communicate. Within nine months, she got that opportunity. A local publisher met Lori and asked about her interest in writing a book. By 2005, “Help me Live: 20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know” was in print, and Lori was well on her way to becoming one of the most respected and effective cancer awareness advocates in America. Lori went on to advocate on behalf of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, The Lung Cancer Alliance, and The National Lung Cancer Partnership.
Lori Hope passed away on September 27, 2012. The HOPE she created will live on forever.