For over a year, Natalie Dubs didn’t know what was wrong with her.
At first, it felt like a cold, but her symptoms lasted all summer, draining her of energy.
Then came the headaches, which she thought were from poor posture at her new job.
Soon the migraines started, on one side of her head, and the tablets didn’t seem to work.
“I didn't feel well. I was upset at my husband. I wanted to get divorced even after a year from getting married!” Natalie, 36, tells SBS News.
“She had just started a new job. And so that was quite tough on her,” recalls husband Michael.
Natalie Dubs and her husband Michael. Source: SBS News
“It seemed a bit like it was just stress from the job, but then it just kept on getting worse and worse.”
Natalie, an engineer who lives on Sydney's north shore, tried multiple doctors but no one could get to the bottom of her illness.
That was, she says, until one of her appointments was taken by a trainee doctor. They recommended a CT scan.
“That’s when they found out that I have a pretty big tumour in my head on my left side that shifts the midline of the brain to the right side.”
She was rushed into surgery to remove the tumour but subsequent CT scans found the cancer had actually originated in her lungs.
"I was shocked that I got lung cancer and not some other sort of cancer because I've never smoked in my life," she says.
“My husband is not a smoker. None of my friends really smoke. My family, no one smokes.”
The stigma of cancer
Lung cancer is Australia's fifth most common cancer, but it is the leading killer, responsible for one in five cancer deaths in Australia.
Natalie's cancer was caused by a gene mutation, but she still had to deal with the stigma surrounding it.
“It seems like when we talk about lung cancer, everyone thinks it's just [about being a] smoker,” she said.
“Most of the people in the gene mutation group, we are all around our thirties, twenties.”
“People just don't pay enough attention to lung cancer, it's so hard to get any funding out there. It's so hard to get anyone to care.
CEO of the Lung Foundation Mark Brooke said: “there has been a long-held belief in the Australian community that people with lung cancer somehow bring it upon themselves”.
“We need to remember out of five people diagnosed, two Australians will never ever have smoked.”
“Anyone who is diagnosed with lung cancer really deserves the same amount of support and that support should be free from stigma.”
Calls for more funding
A new medical trial called the ASPiRATION program, due to begin in July, will use genomic sequencing to accurately determine the best treatment for lung cancer patients.
Last month, the program received a $5 million funding boost from the federal government.
"Doing genomic sequencing can enable us to tailor therapy to optimise the outcome for an individual patient,” said Professor Dorothy Keefe, CEO of Cancer Australia.
"Basically, it means that we can make sure that every patient gets their own best therapy."
The announcement was welcome news to Lung Foundation CEO Mr Brooke, who described it as a “game-changer”.
But, he said, lung cancer research has been historically underfunded, with a critical shortage of nurses.
"The question we need to ask ourselves is why there are 450 dedicated breast cancer nurses and only 12, that's only 12, lung cancer nurses in Australia.”
“That's one lung cancer nurse for every 1,000 people diagnosed this year.
“And they simply cannot keep pace with demand.”
National screening program
An inquiry is underway into launching a national screening program for lung cancer.
Cancer Australia is looking for Australians impacted by the disease to have their say on the proposed program on by 17 February 2020.
Ms Keefe said early detection is the key to reducing the number of deaths from lung cancer each year.
“Lung cancer tends to be diagnosed only quite late in its course, and the chest is quite big so there's lots of room to grow before a patient might develop symptoms,” she said.
“So what we are trying to do here is work out a way to detect lung cancer as early as possible, to make sure we can diagnose it at a stage where it's actually treatable."
Natalie underwent brain surgery to remove her tumour and she is now able to manage her condition with medication. She is confident an early detection program will save lives and is doing her best to be positive.
Natalie with her dog Taicho. Source: SBS News
“I'm doing well, I'm working part-time and I'm active,” she says.
“We decided to move on with our lives and live life.”
“I couldn't have a kid so we decided let's go for a dog.”
And Natalie is encouraging other cancer patients to shake off the stigma.
"It's your life, you're in charge of it, not others, so you can drive the way people think about you."
More information and support is available via and .
