Remembering The Legendary Donna Summer: Singer-Songwriter Who Battled Lung Cancer As A Non-Smoker

"She had such charisma that when she walked into a room you couldn't deny she was somebody really special, but she was always ingratiating, generous and kind with people," he said in a recent interview. "If she met you on the street and went 'Wow, I love your sneakers', if she then ran into you 10 years later she'd be like, 'Oh man, I remember you, you're the one who had those sneakers on'.

“Of course there were times when she'd stand her ground for something she believed in, but that wasn't her being a diva she was just standing up for her artistry and saying, 'No, this is what I want.'"

Fans of the vocalist recently got to relive the iconic vocalist's career with the release of a 40th anniversary reissue of her classic self-titled album from 1982, Donna Summer, on November 4. So as we re-listen to some of her top tracks, we can also take the time to reflect on her legacy and spread crucial awareness about the devastating cancer diagnosis that took her life.

Donna Summer’s Career

The GRAMMY website refers to Donna Summer’s sound as “a melting pot of decades of Black music, with soul, funk and pop all coalescing into a very sexy gumbo.” And the period of the singer-songwriter we all know best is undoubtedly her success in the 1970s. With seven classic disco albums released that decade, Summer took over the charts with classic hits like “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” “On The Radio,” “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” and “MacArthur Park.”

But it was the release of her song "Love to Love You Baby" that truly catapulted Summer to stardom in 1975. And over the course of her decades long career, the international sensation received 18 nominations and five GRAMMY awards. She even holds the record for being the only artist to win awards in four different genres: dance, gospel, rock and R&B.

Even still, no amount of success comes without struggle. And as she felt the highest of highs, she also experienced the lowest of lows. One thing she really struggled with was the world’s obsession with seeing her as a sex symbol.

"I'm not just sex, sex, sex," she told Ebony magazine in 1977. "I would never want to be a one-dimensional person like that.

"I can sing songs like ‘Love to Love You, Baby,’ but I can also sing ballads, light opera, things from musical comedies, church hymns all kinds of things. Plus I can write, act and think."

Summer dealt with such severe depression in late 1976, she even attempted suicide. Thankfully, her efforts were interrupted by hotel maids, and she sought help through medication. She even found support in religion, becoming a born-again Christian in 1979.

But the iconic performer’s life was cut short at age 63 on May 17, 2012, following a battle with lung cancer. A representative of her family said she wasn’t a smoker, but it’s unclear if second-hand smoke played a factor in her diagnosis.

Donna Summer died of lung cancer, but the singer wasn't a smoker, and the cancer wasn't related to smoking, her family's representative said Friday.

“Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith,” Summer’s family said in a statement. “While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy."

Understanding Lung Cancer

Lung cancer, the second most common type of cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Diagnosis and treatment of the disease can be tricky since symptoms often don't appear until the cancer has spread.

An initial symptom, for example, could be as serious as a seizure if the lung cancer has already spread to the brain. But other symptoms can include increased coughing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, wheezing, losing your voice or persistent infections like bronchitis or pneumonia.

The two main types of lung cancer are non-small cell, which makes up 85 percent of cases, and small-cell. These types act differently and, accordingly, require different types of treatment.

Dr. Patrick Forde, a thoracic oncologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, tells SurvivorNet about how distinguishing between the two types and their subtypes can be very beneficial.

What Happens When You've Been Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer

"Within that non-small cell category, there's a subtype called non-squamous adenocarcinoma, and that's the group of patients for whom genetic testing is very important on the tumor," he explains. "Genetic testing is looking for mutations in the DNA, in the tumor, which are not present in your normal DNA."

Lung Cancer for Non-Smokers like Donna Summer

Declining smoking rates have lead to an improved outlook for lung cancer since cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for the disease. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention states that cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don't smoke.

It's important to remember, however, that even people who've never smoked before can still get lung cancer. The CDC reports that, in the United States, about 10 to 20 percent of lung cancers, or 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year, happen in people who've never smoked.

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"Some lung cancers are from unknown exposure to air pollution, radon, or asbestos," Dr. Raja Flores, system chair of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai previously told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "We also see more never-smokers with lung cancer who have a family history of it."

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer. It's responsible for anywhere from 3 to 16 percent of cancer cases depending on the levels present in a given area, according to the World Health Organization, but smokers are still 25 times more at risk from radon than non-smokers.

Another possibility for the cause of lung cancer in a non-smoker can be second-hand smoke. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 7,000 adults die of lung cancer annually from breathing secondhand smoke.

Air pollution, family history, HIV or AIDs can also all impact the chances of a non-smoker getting lung cancer. No matter what, it's important to not rule out the disease just because you don't smoke a fact that Donna Hunting knows all too well.

Just like Griffin, Hunting was a non-smoker when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. But the active 54-year-old's cancer had progressed further given that she had stage four non-small cell lung cancer.

If You Have Lungs, You Can Get Lung Cancer Survivor Donna Hunting Shares Her Story

"That day was shattering to my family and to me," she previously told SurvivorNet. "It's not a smokers' disease. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer."

Fortunately for Hunting, testing revealed that her tumors had a mutation in a specific gene called EGFR. This meant that doctors were able to give her a pill to block those mutations and effectively rid her body of the disease.

"After 50 days, miraculously, my PET scan showed no evidence of disease," she said.

Hunting took the drug for over a year, until it stopped working as well. Now she's on a different daily medication, but thanks to advancements in treatment she's able to live with the disease.

"Cancer is a part of my life now, but it isn't my whole life. I'm not letting cancer define me," Hunting said.

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