Gala Providing Hope through

Kettering Medical Center’s Cyclotron

“I know I’m not going to make a success of a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis... but you do the best with what you’ve got.” While David Allen says it quite bluntly, he is living with stage 4 cancer each day. And each day, he is making the best of it.

David refuses to let his diagnosis stop him from having a positive attitude and living the remainder of his life to the fullest. David shares, “Kettering saved my life before with my heart and they’re doing it again now.”

David’s life was at Kettering Heath in 2011 when doctors discovered he needed an unexpected quadruple bypass surgery and an aortic valve replacement. He displayed zero symptoms and only happened to be getting the test on the suggestion of his wife, Diedre, a Kettering Health Network PET technician.

Since his heart surgery in 2011, David had been going about his normal life – driving trucks across the country for a local company and spending time with his family. David and Diedre first came to the United States from Ireland thirty years ago as David was recruited to drive truck. “The U.S. is truly the land of opportunity. I was able to come here and make a good life for my family,” David comments. That family now also includes his three grown children.

In the summer of 2020, David developed a nagging cough that wouldn’t go away. Shortly after bringing his concerns to his doctor, he was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung cancer. He is undergoing treatment and says apart from being a little fatigued, he feels just fine. He acknowledges the PET machine and resources [Cyclotron underwritten in part by Gala of Hope] at Kettering Health allow the most precise images. As a member of the PET team, Diedre appreciates that David doesn’t have to travel to a larger city to enjoy the level of care that Kettering offers.

David has an infectious, positive outlook on life.

It would be understandable for someone in David’s position to feel down, or even angry with the situation they’ve been dealt, but instead, he’s insistent about being grateful for his life and opportunities thus far. He says if he’s saying prayers it’s for the young people he sees in the cancer center – not for himself. David insists that at this point in his journey he “just wants to give back a little bit for everything I’ve gotten.”

About Gala of Hope Foundation

Gala of Hope Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 2014 to serve the Dayton region as a financial resource for cancer patients, cancer treatment, and local cancer research.  At its core, Gala of Hope Foundation was created and is sustained by gifts from generous people committed to changing the face of cancer in the Dayton region. The Foundation serves as a grant maker and a voice for Dayton region cancer patients and its cancer care community.

For more information, contact Jeff Brock, Executive Director at 937-239-5482 or visit www.galaofhope.net