Faye Murray - “This Is My Angel”

Faye Murray, Wrightsville Beach, NC

In May 2004, Faye Murray of Wrightsville Beach began having trouble keeping her balance and experienced nausea and vomiting. Was it vertigo? An MRI revealed a brain tumor. Further tests showed the never smoker to have Stage IV lung cancer with metastasis to the brain. She was told to get her affairs in order as her life expectancy was six months. A friend suggested that she come to UNC where she saw Dr. Mark Socinski.

Murray recalls that first visit, "He came in the room, took my hand in his and said, 'I have a young woman from your area who has had a problem similar to yours for seven years. I'm going to take care of you.' He didn't say he was going to cure me; he was honest. Dr. Socinski then introduced nurse coordinator Ann Steagall, saying, 'This is my angel. She can answer all your questions and can always find me.'"

Between 2004-2006, Murray completed two chemotherapy regimens. In early 2006, she underwent a brain surgery with Dr. Matt Ewend to remove five lesions and two brain radiosurgeries with Drs. Ewend and David Morris. Two months after her surgeries, Murray and her family took a long wished for trip to Italy to see the Sistine Chapel, visiting Florence, Venice and Rome. An art major, she gloried in seeing works by Michelangelo and other artists. In January 2007, she finished a third round of chemotherapy with only one nodule of scar tissue remaining in her lungs.

"If you have to have cancer, UNC is the place to come," she states. And of her cancer experience, she explains, "It's about a positive attitude, God's help, and great doctors. Don't ever give up," she advises. "I'm doing everything I want to do and living a full life." She cites the strong love and support of her two sons, Jim, of Wilmington, and Wright of Wilmington.