Cancer Survivor Story - Robin Scallan

Following her doctor’s advice because she was a longtime smoker, Robin Scallan started getting an annual lung cancer screening 10 years ago – performed with a quick, easy low-dose CT scan. She missed the screening in 2024 but got back on track this summer, a move that saved her life.

Doctors found a nodule in her upper right lung, and Robin was diagnosed with stage 1 non small cell lung cancer. Robin says if she hadn’t gotten that low-dose CT scan, the cancer would have kept growing because she had no symptoms. She adds: “It takes about 15 minutes, and it could save your life!”

After a successful surgery in October, Robin is on the mend. She says she wasn’t shocked at her lung cancer diagnosis because of her lifestyle, but the diagnosis set off a series of life changes – quitting smoking after 40 years off and on, fueling her body with the right foods, and reducing stress in her life.

Now retired from a long career as a radiation protection specialist, she is living out her passion – tending to her 10 acres and gardening with an eye for sustainability and fresh-to-table meals.

And with her family and grandkids, she’s got plenty of reasons to be grateful and stay accountable in her new smoke-free healthy lifestyle. Robin’s more recently added another passion -- advocating to others who are former or current smokers about the importance of getting low-dose CT scans to screen for even the tiniest signs of cancer.