- May 5, 2024
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After suddenly losing her 55-year-old father, Dana Hollingsworth wants to bring attention to prevention.
Dana Hollingsworth and her father, William Stogner, were two peas in pod. They worked together in the pharmaceutical industry in Ormond Beach, and would sometimes even finish each other’s sentences.
She never imagined to lose him when he was just 55 years old.
In 2013, Stogner went into the hospital after complaining that he wasn’t feeling well. A tumor that was growing in his lung for 10 years was discovered, and he was diagnosed with cancer. He died six weeks laters.
“Now that we look back, he wasn’t feeling well in other ways, but we never thought it was cancer,” Hollingsworth said. “With lung cancer, there is not a lot of signs. It was a real shock. He was so young. He just retired seven years prior, and was down in Florida living the dream.”
After losing her father, Hollingsworth found herself wanting to help other people in similar situations. That’s when she got involved with Lung Cancer Alliance, and became a member of the Guides Program, a peer-to-peer program where she tells people her story, and helps them along their own journeys.
“It’s rewarding in a way where I feel like I’m helping somebody,” Hollingsworth said. “You feel so helpless when someone you love so much’s life is cut short.”
For those interested in talking to someone in the Guides Program, call 1-800-298-2436. To volunteer, email [email protected].
Lung cancer by the numbers
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more people in the United States die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer. A study in 2011 showed:
