Ruby Berg shares her lung cancer story and why she advocates early detection

Bundaberg lung cancer patient Ruby Berg is a non smoker who will never get to hear the words ‘you’re cancer free now’. Read her story, and the reason more and more non smokers are getting this insidious disease.

Lung cancer is a disease commonly associated with people who smoke, but it can also strike in people who don’t.

If caught early enough, the five-year survival rate can be 91 per cent, but complacency is the enemy.

About 10 years ago, at just 28 years-of-age, Bundaberg’s Ruby Berg, a non smoker, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and still lives with the illness to this day.

Now she is one of the Rum City’s biggest advocates for early detection of the disease.

“When I was first sick I didn’t think a lot about it, I was exercising a lot and doing things outside my norm and for about six months this went on,” she said.

“There was this cough that came and went...I didn’t have many other symptoms really other than some fatigue but I thought ‘well everyone gets tired in their life’ so I didn’t really think too much about my symptoms.”

Ruby Berg was just 28 when she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and she still undergoes treatment 10 years on.

It wasn’t until she coughed up blood Ruby knew something wasn’t right.

After a number of tests, scans and biopsies Ruby was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.

“It was pretty shocking,” she said.

“I must admit, when I was diagnosed I was probably like a lot of other people in the public and was a bit ignorant about it.

“There’s a lot of stigma around lung cancer being a smoker’s illness when there are a lot of environmental factors and you only need a pair of lungs to get lung cancer.

“There’s so much more we’ve learnt about it now...more and more non smokers are being diagnosed with it.”

Ruby said she is a strong advocate for people getting their cough investigated in case it's more serious.

Since being diagnosed Ruby has undergone a lobectomy, chemo, radiation and it’s still ongoing.

Ten years into her battle she said she now has advanced metastatic lung cancer, meaning the disease has spread into some of her bones and organs.

She’s on a new two-year treatment program, which includes chemotherapies and immunotherapies.

“It’s not where we want it to be, but luckily this new treatment is a possibility of a lot more time,” she said.

“Because I was running out of time, I’m only six months in which is exciting, but for me I won’t ever get to hear those words ‘you’re cancer free now’ because of how advanced it is, but I still have a really good life.

“I have great support, great friends, I have a casual job, I have interests and hobbies and things I really enjoy.

“So as much as possible we try to focus on the good we can do and I try to use this yucky situation to help others, that’s why I’m a big advocate for sharing information and trying to help other people.”

This week Lung Foundation Australia launched a new campaign called What if your Cough isn’t just a Cough? targeting complacency.

Ruby said since she was diagnosed, statistics had improved slightly but early detection was key and she wanted to lend her voice to encouraging people to get checked.

“Five year survival rates for stage four are about 20 per cent, if people went and got the testing and their coughs investigated up to 91 per cent of people could be surviving at five years which is huge when you think about it,” she said.

“Without knowledge we can’t make informed decisions, so I think I have a responsibility as a lung cancer patient to help educate people and share the right facts so people can make better informed decisions.”

According to the Lung Foundation Australia, symptoms of lung disease can include a persistent cough, breathlessness, fatigue, chest pain as well as others.

For more information on lung cancer or respiratory diseases and to take the interactive lung health check up visit the Lung Foundation Australia website.