Focusing on Joy Amid Health Struggles
- Singer and actress Selena Gomez, 31, helped fulfill a bucket list item for one of her biggest fans by speaking with him virtually. Tim Bobrovitsky, 22, is living with metastatic lung cancer and created a TikTok video garnering millions of views, hoping to meet his life-long idol.
- Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality in both men and women in the U.S. It often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has already spread outside the lungs.
- Treating lung cancer depends on the cancer’s location and how advanced it is. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of any of these treatments.
- Dr. Dana Chase, gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Health, says emotional health and good quality of life are associated with better patient survival and outcomes.
Bobrovitsky’s focus on positive emotions, like fulfilling a bucket list, can positively impact his long-term health, according to Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Health. Dr. Chase says maintaining good emotional health and quality of life is associated with better survival and patient outcomes. She encourages cancer patients to prioritize their emotional health for this reason.
Read More@timothyy.b HELP ME MAKE MY CHILDHOOD DREAMS COME TRUE ✨🥹 @Rare Beauty @Selena Gomez ♬ original sound – Tim:)
Bobrovitsky proudly showed a framed ticket to a 2013 Selena Gomez World Tour show, emphasizing his fandom.
“One of my bucket list items since having cancer is to meet Selena Gomez. I was born in 2000, so I grew up with Selena; I created fan pages for Selena, I’ve gone to concerts, and I have posters of Selena. You guys don’t understand my obsession. So TikTok, make my childhood dreams come true,” he said desperately.
He asked his social media followers to tag Selena and her cosmetic makeup line “Rare Beauty” to get the “Come and Get It” singer’s attention.
As luck would have it, Gomez got Bobrovitsky’s message and joined him in a virtual conversation. The now-deleted clip was posted on Gomez’s TikTok page and showed Bobrovsky expressing his immense joy and gratitude to share screentime with his favorite celebrity.
The shortened clip did not show their verbal exchange, but Gomez appeared teary-eyed and listened intently to one of her biggest fans share what the moment meant to him.
“I’m literally sweating, shaking, and dying. I cannot believe this is real life. My whole life, I’ve just tried to be noticed by her, and it’s happening all because of you guys,” he added while thanking his online supporters for making his dream come true.
@timothyy.ba second sign to go to the doctor LOL♬ original sound – Tim:)
Bobrovitsky has shared many facets of his lung cancer journey on his TikTok channel. In videos dating back to early 2023, he discussed the side effects of chemotherapy and other parts of his journey, garnering millions of social media views.
Expert Lung Cancer Resources
- 7 Lung Cancer Symptoms to Know; This Disease Can Be Tricky to Catch Early & Doesn’t Just Affect Smokers
- A New Development in the Fight Against Lung Cancer: Explaining the Liquid Biopsy
- A New Option for Some People With Lung Cancer: How This Immunotherapy/Chemotherapy Combo Can Increase Treatment Success
Focusing on Joy Brings Many Benefits for Patients
Finding the time to enjoy the things you love can make a huge difference in how patients handle cancer treatment, as many, many patients and experts have told SurvivorNet.
“Definitely working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment, your emotional well-being, definitely working on those things and making them better are important and can impact your survival,” Dr. Chase told SurvivorNet.
WATCH: The benefits of finding time for joy amid health struggles.
Dr. Chase suggests tapping into your support network, including loved ones like friends and family. It can also be a patient advocate or a support group — in-person or virtual — that shares your cancer or disease.
Selena Gomez Has Her Own Experience With Health Challenges
Selena Gomez was diagnosed with lupus in 2014.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the “immune system attacks its own tissues,” leading to widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the organs affected. It can also affect the joints, brain, skin, kidneys, lungs, and blood vessels.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, “Lupus is a chronic (long-term) disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. It’s an autoimmune disease, which means that your immune system, the body system that usually fights infections, attacks healthy tissue instead.”
In addition to living with lupus, Gomez also had to work through bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression diagnoses.
“My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks, these were all things that honestly should have taken me down,” Gomez said in an interview with ELLE magazine in 2021.
Helping her cope, she’s used her personal struggles to inspire her music, such as “My Mind and Me,” released in 2022.
“I sought help. I believe in medication. It has completely changed my life. That hopefully was part of the message in talking about my story: ‘You should never stop figuring out who you are.’ I just hope that people [who are suffering] know they’re not alone,” Gomez told the Los Angeles Times.
Understanding Lung Cancer
Lung cancer forms when cancer cells develop in the tissues of the lung. It is the second most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality in both men and women in the U.S., SurvivorNet experts say. It’s “completely asymptomatic,” says thoracic surgeon-in-chief at Temple University Health System Dr. Joseph Friedberg.
“It causes no issues until it has spread somewhere. So, if it spreads to the bones, it may cause pain. If it spreads to the brain, it may cause something not subtle, like a seizure,” Dr. Friedberg adds.
WATCH: Detecting lung cancer in the absence of symptoms.
Scans such as X-rays can help doctors determine if a shadow appears, which can prompt further testing for lung cancer.
Lung cancer often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has already spread outside the lungs.
There are two main types of lung cancer, which doctors group together based on how they act and how they’re treated:
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type and makes up about 85% of cases.
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is less common, but it tends to grow faster than NSCLC and is treated very differently.
Smoking causes most cases of this cancer. Tobacco smoke contains a mixture of more than 7,000 different chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer, the CDC reports. It’s important to note that nonsmokers can still get lung cancer.
If you quit smoking, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease and dying from it.
Some people with lung cancer may experience symptoms such as:
- A cough that doesn’t go away, that gets worse, or that brings up bloody phlegm
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Chest pain
- Hoarse voice
- Appetite loss
- Weight loss
If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms consistently, contact your doctor for further tests.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you find yourself diagnosed with lung cancer and are concerned about the long-term impacts, here are some questions you can ask your doctor.
- Has my cancer spread to other parts of the body?
- Based on my cancer stage, what are my treatment options?
- What are the side effects of my recommended treatment?
- Are there ways to help minimize the effects of treatment?
- How long will I be unable to work or carry out my daily activities?
- What financial resources are available to get the treatments I need?
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