Michel Itel is a 42-year-old widowed father of two and non-smoker who is currently battling stage 4 lung cancer.
He says when he was diagnosed with the disease five years ago, he sat in his doctor’s office in absolute disbelief.
“I wasn’t a smoker. At 42 years old, I was fit and healthy. How did I get here?” said Michel.
“My teenage daughters were devastated when I told them I was terminally ill. Brooke and Olivia had already lost their mother as babies and they still needed me.
“Sometimes they’ll still ask me, “Who’s going to walk me down the aisle? Who’s going to give me away? When we need advice, who can we talk to? Who have we got?”
Lung cancer doesn’t discriminate. An estimated 16.1% of men and 28.9% of women diagnosed with lung cancer are non-smokers, and the numbers are climbing.
Despite being the most common cause of death from cancer in Australia, there are still barriers to lung cancer care and lung cancer research is underfunded compared to other cancers.
“I want to be a voice for people affected by lung disease, but also for unsung heroes like my friend, Dr Arutha Kulasinghe,” said Michel.
“Arutha is a Cure Cancer alumnus and an emerging lung cancer researcher who specialises in immunotherapy. When we met at my treating hospital in Brisbane, his commitment to innovation in lung cancer treatment reminded me of the phase I clinical trial that bought me time in my journey. His ideas instantly resonated with me and I began to endorse his research as a consumer advocate.”
Arutha is currently using a groundbreaking technology called spatial transcriptomics to identify biomarkers for personalised, targeted therapies in lung tumour tissues. It is already laying the groundwork for better, more effective lung cancer therapies.
“I want you to know that we can make a difference together. Treatment paths get limited as your cancer progresses and develops resistance, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There is still hope.
“We’re hitting a tipping point where emerging researchers are using innovation and technology to develop new treatments for lung cancer. These new researchers are part of the future, but they need your help to support as they enter an extremely competitive landscape for funding,” he said.
“My life will be much shorter than most parents. I hope that one day, my daughters will look back and see the advocacy that I do, and they’ll understand that I was preparing them for something greater in their lives.
“You call it research, we call it hope. Without that hope, we can no longer dream of living a normal life. It all starts with funding and support.”
Cure Cancer is a charity that exclusively funds new cancer researchers whose novel ideas have the potential to change patients’ lives for the better.
To help fund pioneering lung cancer research this Christmas, make a donation at https://www.curecancer.com.au/christmas-appeal-2022 or call (02) 8072 6188.
