Jan’s Journey

Nearly three years  ago, Janice Tomecek, our beautiful mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. Jan started treatment soon after her diagnosis through a targeted therapy drug.  During this time,  Jan also received radiation treatment to stabilize an area on her neck that had metastasized.  The targeted therapy drug was effective for just over two years, but the cancer progressed. She underwent two rounds of chemotherapy and most recently four rounds of immunotherapy, which unfortunately did not work at all.

The cancer has been progressing rapidly in the past month and treatment options are now running thin. Jan is not well enough to try another form of chemotherapy.  Her only hope is a recent targeted drug therapy that was not available at the time of her initial diagnosis.

Tagrisso is a new drug that has clinically shown to extend the lives of non-small cell lung cancer patients with minimal side effects.  This costly drug is not currently funded for all patients by Alberta Health Care leaving patients out of pocket by as much as $11,000 a month.

We have launched this campaign in hopes to help Jan access Tagrisso and to continue to advocate for lung cancer awareness, early diagnosis and to dispell some of the myths & stigma attached to this disease. The reality is: If you have lungs you can get lung cancer.

 The lack of lung cancer research funding and awareness is extremely disheartening.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love and support.