Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer: 115 Real Stories
115 stories match lung cancer and chemotherapy. 60 of them mention radiation.
Stage II ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Stephanie’s Survivor Story
Stephanie’s lung cancer story began with a mild cough in spring 2021. She thought it might be allergies or weather-related, but when it persisted, she mentioned it during a routine check-up. A chest X-ray showed a lung mass, and a CT scan showed a spiculated…
Read this storyStage II ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Stephanie’s Patient Story
Stephanie Williams developed a mild but persistent cough in spring 2021. At a yearly primary care visit, she asked for a chest X-ray. The image showed a cloudy area on her right side, and a same-day CT scan described a large spiculated mass that was highly…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Shirley’s Patient Story
Shirley was 34, working as a translator in Southern California, when a persistent cough during the COVID-19 pandemic became something much more serious. She went through multiple rounds of antibiotics and testing, but the cough continued and severe back pain…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Story
This anonymized patient reflected on more than 10.5 years of living with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. She was diagnosed in 2014 after a local clinic completed about 2 weeks of testing and told her she had Stage IV cancer. At first, her local doctor…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Shirley’s Patient Story
Shirley was 34 when a cough and severe back pain were first treated as possible long COVID or pneumonia. Two bronchoscopies did not give answers. A wedge resection was then done to obtain tissue, and pathology showed adenocarcinoma. PET and MRI scans did not…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Natalie’s Patient Story
Natalie Brown was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in June 2020 after about 6 months of testing, including X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and several biopsies. She had been dismissed at times because of her age and lack of smoking history. During one biopsy…
Read this storyStage III Lung Cancer: Heidi’s Survivor Story
Heidi was diagnosed with Stage IIIA lung cancer in October 2018. She was a lifelong health educator and fitness trainer with no symptoms that made her think of lung cancer. Imaging for an ovarian cyst unexpectedly found a mass in the upper lobe of her left…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Filipe’s Patient Story
Filipe was 36 when a headache and blurred vision led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. A brain MRI showed 7 brain metastases, including a 4 cm lesion at the back of his head. CT imaging and biopsy confirmed lung cancer as the primary. Liver lesions were…
Read this storyStage IV HER2-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Samantha’s Patient Story
Samantha was an active hiker and outdoor adventurer when a mild cough and chest pressure after a trip to India led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. She had never thought lung cancer was likely because she was a nonsmoker and very health-conscious. At…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Ashley’s Survivor Story
Ashley Vasallo was 36 when she shared her story, 2 years after being diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Before diagnosis, she had trouble swallowing, shortness of breath, stabbing chest pain, fatigue, vomiting, full-body swelling, clubbed…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Florence’s Patient Story
Florence was 40 and living in Nîmes when unusual fatigue, stomach pain, and shortness of breath led her to medical care. She was first diagnosed with pericarditis and treated in the hospital, but deeper testing found the cause: lung cancer. Telling her…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Pascal’s Survivor Story
Pascal, 62, learned he had lung cancer after going to his general practitioner for a lump in his neck. He was sent to the emergency department, where a chest X-ray did not show anything clear, but CT scan, PET scan, and biopsy confirmed lung cancer…
Read this storyStage III Lung Adenocarcinoma: Payton’s Survivor Story
Payton Gibbs was 26 and pregnant when symptoms that seemed like reflux, sleep apnea, or infection eventually led to a lung cancer diagnosis. For months, she had thick mucus and phlegm after meals and on waking, acid reflux, wheezing, and episodes of waking up…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Att’s Patient Story
Att Callahan was 70 when months of coughing, followed by coughing up blood, led to testing and a Stage IIB lung cancer diagnosis. She did not smoke, was not overweight, and considered herself healthy, so the diagnosis was confusing and frightening. At MD…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lenny’s Survivor Story
Lenny was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer in November 2019. He had never smoked. His first warning signs were a change in his walking, pain in his right leg, and later coughing and wheezing that felt different from his usual mild asthma…
Read this storyStage II EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Daniel’s Survivor Story
Daniel West’s lung nodules were found unexpectedly in 2022 when he used a workplace opportunity to have cardiac testing after his father’s death from a heart attack. CT and PET imaging showed a concerning nodule in the middle lobe of his right lung, and…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Ed’s Survivor Story
Ed Ackerman was 61 and felt healthy when a day-long Cleveland Clinic executive physical unexpectedly found a spot in the lower right lung. He had recently received reassuring results from other routine examinations and had no symptoms. A repeat CT scan showed…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Keegan’s Survivor Story
Keegan Murphy, a retired firefighter and combat veteran, was 41 when a lingering dry cough after a cold led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in September 2022. Testing showed adenocarcinoma with an ALK fusion mutation. By then, cancer was present in his…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Deborah’s Patient Story
Deborah Persinger was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010 after bronchitis-like symptoms would not go away and early X-rays and tests did not explain the problem. A local thoracic surgeon gave her a poor 5-year survival estimate, and she asked to be treated at…
Read this storyStage II HR-Positive Lung Cancer: Christine’s Survivor Story
Christine’s lung cancer was found during treatment for a separate Stage III triple-positive breast cancer. Extensive testing for the breast cancer included scans of the liver, brain, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and reproductive organs. A lung nodule was seen, but…
Read this storySmall Cell Lung Cancer: Mary’s Survivor Story
Mary Casanova learned she had small cell lung cancer in October 2017 after feeling a lump under her arm following a yoga class. At first, she feared breast cancer, and the period from late October through December was emotionally overwhelming. A second doctor…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Shyreece’s Patient Story
Shyreece’s fourth video focuses on the lessons she learned as a Black woman living with Stage IV lung cancer and on the advocacy that grew from her experience. She described a frightening beginning: within about 2 weeks, she went from symptoms and hospital…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Shyreece’s Patient Story
Shyreece Pompey’s Stage IV lung cancer care changed when biomarker testing opened a different treatment path. She had first been placed on a chemotherapy cocktail. Later, testing showed that a targeted therapy pill was an option, though the mutation and drug…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Steve’s Patient Story
Steve Castellaw was 72 when a lump on the side of his head led to an MRI, surgery, and biopsy. The next day, he learned he had Stage IV lung cancer. The tumor was in his left lung and had spread to his right pelvis, the L1 and L2 vertebrae in his spine, and…
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