A Family's Loss
- Ami Brown, 57, a stage 3 lung cancer survivor from Discovery’s show Alaskan Bush People, has lost her husband Billy Brown, 68, who died after having a seizure, the family confirms on social media.
- Son Bear Brown, 33, shared a beautiful tribute on his Instagram for his late father. “He lived his life on his terms, off the grid and off the land and taught us to live like that as well.”
- Stanford Medicine’s Dr. Billy Loo Jr. talked about radiation for stage 3 lung cancer in a previous interview with SurvivorNet: “There’s the opportunity with aggressive therapy to try to cure the cancer and eliminate it.”
Discovery TV posted a photo and tribute to the late reality TV star on the show’s page. “We are devastated to hear of Billy Brown's sudden passing,” the post reads. “He has been part of the @discovery family for years – a trailblazer, a lovely man, and most definitely one of a kind. Our heart is with his family and those that knew him and loved him as they deal with this devastating loss.” The photo features Billy standing in front of a lake in the mountains, known to family and fans as his happy place. The show first aired in 2014, and fans fell in love with this “family like no other,” as the network describes them, the brood often referring to themselves as a “wolf pack,” and lovers of nature and of family.
“This is heartbreaking Rest In Peace Billy,” says one fan, while another wrote, “this one hurts.”
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Prior Health Issues
According to the The Sun, Billy Brown had said on the family’s show that medical professionals told him the high altitude wasn’t good for him. The higher the altitude, the harder it was for him to breathe, and Billy had expressed to the family that he had been having heart problems. Wife Amy, a stage 3 lung cancer survivor, had told their kids that their father was not going to get better, and the kids had even moved their parent's trailer lower down the mountain to help their dad breathe better.
Wife Ami’s Battle with Lung Cancer
Ami Brown has had her own public health problems and is a stage 3 lung cancer survivor. Ami was diagnosed in 2017 and the whole family moved from rural Alaska to a 435-acre property in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington, closer to medical care. "It was very scary," Ami told People magazine about her cancer journey. "But I never gave up hope."
Related: More Treatment Options for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Help Turn Patients into Survivors
There was some skepticism online at first with people accusing her of making up her cancer battle, but Ami’s oncologist Dr. Deborah Wong released a statement to the magazine stating that "Amora Brown was diagnosed with Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (cancer cells that form in the tissues of the lungs) in April 2017. Treatment for her cancer included a four-month course of chemotherapy with radiation.” Dr. Brown continued that “her disease responded well to the treatment and she is now in remission.”
Her husband Billy, at the time, had said that in his wife’s case, she was given a low chance of survival, and the star has made a remarkable recovery. And now sadly is facing this tragedy of losing her partner.
Learning About Stage 3 Lung Cancer
Lung cancer sounds scary, but treatment options are advancing, giving people fighting lung cancer a higher chance of survival. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Billy Loo, Jr., a radiation oncologist from Stanford Medicine, explained radiation for stage 3 lung cancer, where the tumor is in the chest, but the cancer has also spread to lymph nodes. “There’s the opportunity with aggressive therapy to try to cure the cancer and eliminate it,” he said. “A big advance was the introduction of PET scanning. That gives a more accurate picture of where the cancer is in the body and is it really just confined to the chest or has it spread elsewhere.” Dr. Loo continued that scans have improved treatment decision-making and outcomes. “And then with the advances in chemotherapy and radiation therapy for stage three lung cancer,” he adds, “overall, really, we’re talking about having a fighting chance of eliminating the cancer by aggressive treatment.”
Overview of Radiation Therapy for Stage 3 Lung Cancer
A Lung Cancer Survivor’s Warning
Lung cancer survivor Donna Hunting has important advice for smokers, and non-smokers. “My husband and I were always very conscious of our health. We had our preventative testing done, our yearly physicals, and ate right and exercised.” One day, Hunting didn’t feel well and went to the doctor, and he saw something “concerning” in her lungs. She had stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. “If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer. It’s not a smoker’s disease. Anybody can get lung cancer.” Hunting reminds everybody out there fighting cancer need to take on an attitude of a fighting spirit. “You can make it through this. “I’m kicking cancer’s ass. I’m not letting it define me. Do not let cancer define.” you.”
If You Have Lungs, You Can Get Lung Cancer Survivor Donna Hunting Shares Her Story
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