Bravery and triumph...

Many of you readers know I have been following the story of a Naples 18-year-old who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in February. Over the past several months, I have been so blessed to not only get to know Gregory Lang and his family, but to feel a part of it.

This family has experienced more pain than can possibly be imagined. Yet, they press on, and encourage others to do the same. Greg and his family have inspired me so much, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

I first heard Greg's story in March. I approached it with the same level of detachment most reporters need to get through the day. Here was a kid, in the midst of a blossoming romance, and with limitless potential, and he was sentenced to die. Getting involved with such a sad story was not an option, in my head.

Then, I heard the story. And I met the Langs.

My life will never be the same.

Greg and his 16-year-old sister, Kaitlyn, suffer from a rare genetic mutation, known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a hereditary condition which typically results in the patient having recurring and severe bouts with cancer. It is the same condition that robbed them of their father, Greg Weber Sr., a few years ago.

Greg lost his foot to muscle cancer at age 3. Kaitlyn beat leukemia at age 8. Greg was diagnosed with cancer again in 2005, and again in 2006.

Hearing this story, and meeting Greg, Kaitlyn and their mother, Ann, who has now lost a husband and a child, I knew I couldn't let it go.

There's wasn't a story filled with self-pity and depression. It was one of hope and fierce love. It was one I needed to hear, and to tell.

The Langs opened their homes and their hearts to me, because they wanted me to tell Greg's story of bravery. Even though I knew how the story would end, I couldn't refuse, and I found myself falling deeper in love with their family every day.

Greg died this morning, but he will always be with me. Every time I think my situation is hopeless, I'll think of his eternal optimism and strength. Every time I meet someone who wants to make this world a better place, I'll remember how Greg made me want to write those stories, and the way it makes me feel to tell them.

Every time I think love is gone from the world, I'll think of the Langs, and of Greg and his girlfriend, Brianna, and how true love transcends time, fear, and evil.

And, because I let down my guard and became a part of their lives, I'll probably go ahead and give them a call, thanking them for that gift.

The Lang family charged me to tell the world how great Gregory was, and how he, as one person, felt he could change the world. In accepting that responsibility, I got so much more than I could have imagined.

In Gregory, I found a friend, an inspiration, and hope. The world he changed wound up being mine.

Be at peace, Gregory. You were too good for this world.

Below is the story I wrote about Greg's passing today. To see a fantastic slide show of him by Wasim Ahmad, or for a list of all of my Greg stories, click here.

naplesnews.com

Long brave fight ends: Greg Lang dies of cancer

By Jennifer Brannock

Originally published — 10:11 a.m., September 10, 2007
Updated — 4:50 p.m., September 10, 2007

Editor’s note: Gulf Coast High School graduate Gregory Lang has battled cancer since he was 3 years old. In February, doctors said Greg had about six months to live. Greg, his sister, Kaitlyn, and their late father, Gregory Weber Sr., suffer from a rare genetic condition, Li- Fraumeni syndrome, causing recurring cancer. Greg’s battle with cancer ended when he died this morning. The Naples Daily News is following his continuing story.

Ann Lang told her son not to struggle when the time came to let go. She told him not to worry.

She promised him everything would be fine, and said not to be afraid.

“I told him not to fight the feeling if it came over him, but simply to just grab his wings and go because we all would be OK,” Ann wrote last month on the family’s blog, www.thegregoryweberlangfoundation.org/blog.

“ He smiled and said, ‘OK, Mom.’”

Gregory Lang took his mother’s advice Monday morning.

He died painlessly in his family’s Naples home, surrounded by loved ones, his aunt, Nicole Halabi, said. He was 18 years old.

Greg was never scared of the cancer that permeated his frail body. In spite of his emotional and physical pain, he never let the disease poison his positive outlook.

He may have lost his life, but Gregory Lang triumphed over cancer.

“Goodness will always triumph over evil,” Ann said in July. “As long as he stays positive, the cancer cannot win, even if it takes him from us.”

Greg became a community celebrity following his terminal diagnosis in February.

Fellow Gulf Coast High School students rallied around him, hosting a fashion show in April to raise money for his scholarship/cancer research foundation, The Gregory Weber Lang Foundation.

At his high school graduation in May, classmates erupted in applause and rose uniformly in ovation as Collier County School Board Chairman Steve Donovan awarded Greg his diploma.

Most recently, community members raised more than $5,000 for the foundation at a karaoke fundraiser at Porky’s Last Stand on Marco Island. Despite his weakening condition, Greg attended the event with his family and girlfriend, 17-year-old Brianna Hanson.

Early last month, doctors informed the Lang family the cancer had spread from his bones into his lungs, and the end was drawing near. But the pain never crippled Greg’s sense of humor, his charm or his drive to promote positive thinking in the face of adversity.

“Gregory can’t change his nature, even when his body is failing and ready to die,” Ann wrote on the family’s blog on Aug. 28. “He just can’t do it.”

Hospice of Naples workers began pumping painkillers into Greg’s body intravenously two weeks ago. Saturday, he slipped into an irreversible coma.

Thankfully, Ann wrote Sunday, her son had heard all she had to say.

“We have all said what we have needed to say and, as I have said before, it’s now between Gregory and his God.”

Greg is survived by his mother, adopted father Tim Lang, sister Kaitlyn, brothers Peter and Tim, and his girlfriend, Brianna.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Gulf Coast High School auditorium. The public is invited to attend.

For information on the Gregory Weber Lang Foundation, promoting cancer research and awarding scholarships to students triumphing over adversity, contact Colonial Bank, (239) 352-3075.

Jennifer Brannock can be reached at jencox416@yahoo.com.

© 2007 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.