Maria Steele Shares Her Story of Radon and Lung Cancer

“Statistically, you have a year to live.”
– Maria Steele’s oncologist on her first office visit for a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis

Maria Steele with her husband and granddaughter at the State of Iowa House of Representatives

Being told that she had stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain came as a shock to Maria Steele, a Nurse Practitioner for over 40 years from Iowa. Her dry nagging cough had led to a doctor visit, but she had no neurological symptoms. She lived a healthy life, never smoked, and just a few years earlier she and her husband had bicycled over 3,000 miles across the United States.

We met Maria at the recent Region 7 EPA Radon Stakeholders meeting in Des Moines, Iowa where she shared her story with a room full of radon testing and mitigation professionals, home inspectors, and state health departments. Her heartfelt description of her cancer journey that she traced back to radon exposure in her home motivated the audience to continue raising awareness about the risks of radon exposure.

Lung cancer diagnosis

“In addition to learning my current home had high radon, my childhood home also had a dirt floor crawl space where I may have also been exposed to radon,” Maria expressed in a recent interview with Radonova. “After my diagnosis, my husband was immediately screened for lung cancer and his results came back clear. We both had a crash course on radon and learned that Iowa has the highest percentage of homes with radon.” The Iowa Cancer Consortium reports that more than 70% of the homes in Iowa have radon levels above the actionable limit of 4.0 picocures per liter.

“As a medical professional I was stunned to learn this information,” says Steele. “Health providers talk to us about our risk for diabetes, heart issues, and kidney problems but not about the risks of lung cancer if you don’t smoke. Heart and kidney problems can certainly kill you faster, but lung cancer takes the lives of more people that breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined.” Maria’s home now has a radon mitigation system installed.

What is radon?

Radon is an odorless and colorless gas. It forms when uranium in the soil beneath a home, school, or building decays. The gas decays into harmful radioactive atoms that get caught in the respiratory tract when we breathe. Over time, this exposure causes lung cancer.

Radon is the #1 cause of lung cancer in people who do not smoke and the #2 cause of lung cancer nationwide. The AARST Radon Report Card for Iowa states that Iowa has more than 600 radon induced lung cancer diagnoses per year.

“Testing your home for radon is easy to do. I urge everyone to test their homes.”

Lung cancer stigma

Maria spent most of her career as a GI and liver disease nurse practitioner. “The stigma of lung cancer is real,” she says. “You have to defend yourself because people think you are a smoker and therefore…somehow…brought it on yourself. It’s like when I had patients diagnosed with hepatitis who were never drug users or cirrhosis who aren’t alcoholics.”

Maria became involved with raising radon awareness and helping to lobby for radon legislation in Iowa. She was often called on to tell her story to state legislators. “I didn’t (and don’t) want to be pitied for my illness. I wanted to get people’s attention about radon and lung cancer,” she says.

Last year, in May of 2022, the Gail Orcutt School Safety Bill was signed into law by the governor of Iowa. This law requires radon testing and then radon mitigation if needed in Iowa public schools. “Now that I have grandchildren, I want their schools to be tested and mitigated. My daughter is an educator in an Iowa elementary school, so this is doubly important for teachers and staff who spend even more time in school buildings.”

Maria helped campaign at the Iowa capital for this bill and educate state senators and representatives about the dangers of long-term radon exposure and the importance of testing in schools where students and teachers can potentially be exposed to radon for 8-10 hours a day, year after year.

Mind, body, and spirit

Maria’s diagnosis was a little over 3 years ago. When asked how she is doing now, Maria says she is doing well and continues to get scans every 6 months. “Faith has been a big part of my journey,” says Maria. “I really believe in the connection of mind, body, and spirit and its connection to overcoming cancer. Physical, mental, and spiritual mindfulness are all interconnected.”

So far, she is way ahead of her first doctor’s prediction. Her attitude and healthy lifestyle have helped her beat the odds. We are pulling for you, Maria. Our hearts, souls, and minds are on your side.

For more information about living with cancer in Iowa, visit the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, Above and Beyond Cancer, and Iowa Cancer Consortium.