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Friday February 16, 2007

Advocate for Jewish causes and lung cancer patients

by dan pine
staff writer

Sandra Phillips Britt did not go gently into that good night.

When she was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago, she fought back with everything she had, eventually becoming a national spokesperson for patients with the disease. On Sunday, Feb. 11, Britt lost her battle. She was 48.

Though advocating for lung cancer patients was Britt’s last cause, it was not her first. For years, she was active in the Bay Area Jewish community, serving as director of Israel Bonds’ women’s division and as regional director of the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. She was also a Wexner fellow and an active member of Oakland’s Temple Sinai.

“Sandy strongly identified as a Jew,” said her husband, Michael Britt. “She got a lot of pleasure from it.”

Added her friend Janice Brenner, “She was very proud to be Jewish. Sandy never missed an opportunity to convey that to people and bring the best of our traditions to the table.”

The granddaughter of a co-founder of Nevada’s first synagogue, Britt grew up in Southern California, graduating from San Diego State University with a journalism degree. After relocating to the Bay Area, she landed her first job in the Jewish community with Israel Bonds.

“We had that strong commitment to Israel,” remembered her colleague David Roth, who succeeded her at Israel Bonds and, later, at the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center. “We shared war stories about the philanthropic world. I always cherished her views.”

Britt met her husband in 1995. Michael Britt says they shared a zeal for traveling and fixing up their Alameda home. “She loved to travel,” he said, “so we took a lot of weekend trips. We went to Hawaii a lot. After she was diagnosed, we took a big trip to Europe.”

That lung cancer diagnosis came in 2004, though she was a non-smoker. Her father and brother had previously died from lung cancer.

As she told j. last October, “There is so much ignorance out there, and the stigma of smoking has prejudiced the community. The fact that I didn’t smoke worked against me. A lot of pulmonologists have a prejudice against patients with lung cancer.”

But Britt became, as her friend Brenner put it, “a warrior. She handled illness the way she does everything: head on. Because of her own efforts she survived way beyond what they expected. She wouldn’t give up.”

Britt joined the Lung Cancer Alliance, a support organization of patients advocating for more research into the disease, and soon became a spokeswoman. She did interviews on the subject with CNN, the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her picture appeared on the cover of j. for an October 2006 story about Jews with lung cancer.

Just a few weeks ago, the Chronicle published a piece by Britt that read in part: “When it comes to your life, do not take one person’s word for it, no matter how nice and professional they might seem. Don’t hesitate to see top specialists. Borrow money if you have to. Just go. Don’t take no for an answer.”

The Temple Sinai community was a great source of support. “When she had a bad week she would go on Friday nights,” recalled Michael Britt. “The rabbis were fabulous.”

As her condition worsened, Britt prepared herself, leaving nothing to chance. “For a lot of people who are ill,” said her husband, “it’s unexpected and they often don’t acknowledge it’s actually happening. Sandy was completely different. She was completely organized, and planned her own funeral. She was an event planner. That’s how she ran her life and her death.”

As she told j. last year, “I lead the strangest life. It’s not normal to walk around knowing your number’s up soon. I run the gamut of emotions. It’s a process you go through. I’m still clinging to life.”

Sandra Phillips Britt is survived by her husband, Michael Britt, of Alameda and her mother, Jeanette Phillips, of La Mirada. A memorial service will be held 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18 at Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit St., Oakland. Donations may be made to the Lung Cancer Alliance/Phillips Family Memorial Trust at (800) 298-2436, or Temple Sinai.

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