“I had pneumonia, but they also detected a spot on my lung.”

John Brooks, 66, of Monroe, grew up on the water, whether he was fishing, boating or kayaking. Ten years ago, a close friend talked him into buying a jet ski. That jet ski and John are a big part of Hartford HealthCare’s Swim Across the Sound hosted by St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Brooks, a two-time cancer survivor, is on the water during the event giving rides to swimmers as they finish the 15.5-mile open water marathon from the Long Island Sound to Captain’s Cove in Bridgeport. The fundraiser helps alleviate the financial burden of cancer for patients by paying for expenses like mortgages, utilities and car payments.

Though Brooks is physically fit — he and his wife are cyclists and he is not a smoker — he was still diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009. “I went to the Monroe walk-in,” he said of Hartford HealthCare’s Urgent Care, which was owned by St. Vincent’s at the time. “I had a really bad cold and wanted to get a prescription strength cough medicine.”

Brooks said it hurt when he coughed, and the doctors thought he had pneumonia. That would have been it, but by a twist of fate one doctor was working on her day off. “She was very thorough and insisted that I have a chest X-ray,” Brooks recalled. “I had pneumonia, but they also detected a spot on my lung.” He was sent to the Emergency Room at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where tests confirmed there was a spot and a subsequent biopsy found it was adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer in nonsmokers.

He said it was a scary time for him and his family, but doctors had caught the Stage 1B lung cancer early, a lobectomy was performed to remove the right upper lobe, and Brooks went on to make a full recovery without radiation or chemotherapy.

Brooks said when he heard about the Swim Assistance Program that St. Vincent’s Medical Center offered to cancer patients, regardless of where they receive cancer treatment, he signed up for yoga classes. “It got me together with other cancer survivors,” Brooks said. “We supported each other. We ended up going to each other’s houses for dinner. It was more than just yoga. The camaraderie and the support were extremely beneficial and it gave me a break from cancer for an hour which was just invaluable.”

Brooks began volunteering in 2021 and has volunteered every year since, except for 2025. “I wasn’t able to volunteer last year, because, surprisingly, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last July,” he said. “I’ve been successfully treated with no reoccurrence. Again, we caught it early with a routine annual physical. I can’t stress enough how important it is to get an annual physical, which includes all the routine tests.”

“I was fortunate both times,” he said of his cancer diagnoses. “My cancer was caught early.” After missing a year, Brooks said he looks forward to getting back out onto the water again. “The swimmers are amazing. I’m glad to be a part of it and assist these amazing athletes, who do this for such a great cause. Because of my journey, I’m so thankful to be able to help others who have gone through what I’ve gone through.”