From the time Lorna Brunelle was a child, belting songs into her hairbrush, she knew she belonged in the spotlight.
Over the years, Brunelle’s passion for acting and singing evolved into a career in education and coaching. She opened a performing arts school and now owns a theater in her hometown of Middleborough, MA.
When Brunelle received a shocking colorectal cancer diagnosis, her students were at the forefront of her mind. “You gotta help me stick around as long as I can, because I have so much more that I need to do,” she remembers telling her Dana-Farber oncologist.
Brunelle’s care team created a plan that enabled her to keep inspiring, entertaining, and teaching throughout treatment. Now, she is using her public platform to raise awareness about colorectal cancer’s rising prevalence, and her artistry to design a line of fashionable bags that help people with chemotherapy pumps maintain their privacy and style.
“If the universe can spare my life longer and I can help more people navigate their way through screenings and wellness, that’s what it’s all about for me,” Brunelle says.
‘It wasn’t the beginning of the end’
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brunelle celebrated her 50th birthday. This milestone wasn’t just about cake and balloons. Having survived thyroid cancer at 33, Brunelle was meticulous about cancer prevention and screening. She knew the guidelines. At age 50, it was time for a colonoscopy (the recommended screening age has since been lowered to 45).
With many healthcare facilities overwhelmed at the time, Brunelle says her primary care physician prescribed Cologuard, an at-home stool test that screens for signs of colorectal cancer and precancer. She was healthy, symptom-free, and had no family history of colorectal cancer. When the results came back indicating a need for further screening, she remembers her friends and family reassuring her that it had to be a false positive.
Then, a follow-up colonoscopy confirmed that she had colorectal cancer.
Her first consultation with an oncologist at a large local hospital left her head swimming. At a friend’s recommendation, she pursued a second opinion at Dana-Farber, where she met Matthew Yurgelun, MD, FASCO, CGAF.
“Within 30 seconds, I thought, ‘he’s the one,’” she says. “He could teach a master class in listening. Not only did I feel seen, but I also had the audacity to hope. I felt like it wasn’t the beginning of the end.”
A homecoming
At their first meeting, Yurgelun got to know Brunelle, her passions, and her career. He told her that they could build a chemotherapy regimen around her schedule.
With colorectal cancer cases on the rise in the United States, Yurgelun has grown increasingly accustomed to treating younger patients with busy professional and personal lives. Recent findings from the American Cancer Society revealed that almost half of new colorectal cancer cases occur in adults younger than 65, up from just over a quarter in 1995.
Yurgelun sees patients in Dana Farber’s Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center, which is dedicated to addressing the needs of patients diagnosed before the age of 50.
“Whether it’s as a parent, in their job, in their community, or through creativity, having a sense of purpose and passion can take back some of the power that cancer takes away,” Yurgelun says. “For Lorna, that’s been an important part of her journey.”
Brunelle ultimately received both chemotherapy and surgery to treat her cancer. Among the oncology staff, she became well-known for supplying trays of homemade cookies.
As she drives to Dana-Farber for follow-up visits with Yurgelun, she finds herself feeling grateful.
“I look at it as a homecoming to a place that saved my life,” she says. “To me, it’s literally a big hug from a building.”
Giving back through creativity
At the end of Brunelle’s first chemotherapy session, inspiration for a new artistic endeavor struck.
When her nurse handed her a black vinyl bag boldly labeled “Infusystem,” Brunelle felt her heart sink. The bag contained a chemo pump that would continue to deliver lifesaving medicine once she left the office, but Brunelle imagined her students seeing it. The conspicuous bag dashed her hopes of keeping her illness private.
“I’m somebody that looks at a problem and fixes it,” she says.
Working with a local cobbler, Brunelle transformed an old designer tote into a stylish cover for the pump; students and theatergoers would simply assume she was carrying a purse. The artistic innovation worked so well that she now plans to launch a full line of chemo pump bags. Her prototype even obscures the pump’s mechanical whooshing sound.
Brunelle’s creativity has helped her become a powerful advocate for early detection and prevention awareness, too. She shares her story on her public social media platforms, speaks at conferences and with the press, and is writing a book about her experiences.
The most important opportunities for advocacy, she says, often arise in small, personal moments, like reminding friends to schedule screenings or helping family members prepare meals without processed meats.
“You can advocate at home, right in your own circle,” Brunelle says. “Find your voice and make it work for you.”