How One Mother Is Fighting to Save Others After Lung Cancer Took Her Son

Veronica’s son, Rashad, was working as a cardiology tech at a hospital in Florida when excruciating pain on his right side made him seek treatment for what he thought was a kidney stone. During an ultrasound, the technician noticed something unusual on the image of his lower lungs. More testing returned a shocking diagnosis, Rashad had stage IV lung cancer. When Veronica heard the news, she said it felt like the end of the world. She immediately decided to fly to Florida and meet Rashad’s oncologist. “I have two male cousins who had lung cancer in the past, but you don’t think about that when your healthy, vibrant son gets a cancer diagnosis. It was a complete shock,” she said.

The cancer had spread to Rashad’s thymus gland, which needed to be removed, and it was during this surgery that they saw how extensively the lung cancer had spread and knew they needed a new plan. A week later, on Rashad’s 28^th birthday, he had surgery to remove his right lung. After surgery he needed immunotherapy and radiation, but the cancer was too aggressive and continued to spread to his other lung and his heart.

“He never had a moment of peace; he was so uncomfortable. As a mother it is so terrible to have to watch your child suffer and know there is nothing you can do,” Veronica said. Despite all this, on October 31, 2021, at just 29 years old, Rashad passed away.

Using Personal Experience to Support Advocacy Efforts

Before Rashad’s unforeseen diagnosis, Veronica knew very little about lung cancer. So, when she discovered a LUNG FORCE Walk in her area, she knew she wanted to get involved. “I had never heard of the Lung Association before my son got sick, which is ridiculous because lung cancer is the number one cancer killer,” she said. “Once I got to that first LUNG FORCE event and saw the community of people sharing their stories, I thought, ‘this is my mission,’ to spread the word and hopefully save other people. It is too late for my son, but maybe we can save someone else. That is all I want to do,” she exclaimed.

Her passion didn’t go unnoticed, and she was asked to attend the 2025 Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. As a representative of Connecticut, she shared her son’s story with her members of Congress. In particular, she shared that during Rashad’s treatment, the insurance company did not want to pay for his immunotherapy. “We had a great team, and his main doctor in particular fought hard to get him the treatment he needed,” Veronica said. The experience encouraged her to continue advocating for CDC, NIH and Medicaid funding so that people with lung cancer can receive the treatment they need.

“We pleaded for them not to cut these programs because without them, people are going to die. I can’t imagine someone going through cancer treatment without insurance, but if they cut Medicaid, for a lot of people that is going to be a reality,” she exclaimed. She worries that hospitals may close and make it even harder for people in underserved rural communities to get to clinics that are hours away.

Veronica hopes that by sharing her story, she can make people look beyond the monetary costs and understand this problem is one of life or death. “It can be hard for people who have not been in that situation to understand what it feels like, so I tell them to try. Imagine your child or loved one needed lifesaving care, and someone took it away from them. How would you feel, and wouldn’t you do anything and everything to try and save them?”

Learn more about how you can advocate for Medicare, Medicaid and other programs that save lives and are at risk of being cut.