Lung Cancer: 296 Real Stories
296 stories match lung cancer. 140 of them mention targeted therapy.
Stage I Lung Cancer Survivor Story
This patient was shocked and frightened when doctors diagnosed Stage I lung cancer. Even though the disease had been found early, the words “I had cancer” brought immediate questions about whether chemotherapy or radiation might be needed and whether the…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Angie’s Patient Story
Angie Brice Hessbruegge was 37 and raising 2 young children when she was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in May 2019. She had never smoked. Her daughter was 6 and her son was 4, and Angie quickly learned that cancer affected the whole household. She spoke…
Read this storyLung Cancer Patient Story
Before lung cancer, this mother of two boys was active and coached T-ball and baseball. After diagnosis, family life slowed down. She needed more naps, faced frequent medical appointments, and described living three months at a time rather than planning far…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie Gilmore was 12 weeks pregnant in 2023 when she went to the emergency room after coughing up blood for 24 hours. After several days of tests and a biopsy, she received the diagnosis over Mother’s Day weekend: neuroendocrine lung cancer. The immediate…
Read this storyStage I Lung Adenocarcinoma: Julie’s Survivor Story
Julie Jones was 55 when she was diagnosed with Stage I lung adenocarcinoma. Because the cancer was found at an early stage, she underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung. She had completed another half marathon about…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Laura’s Patient Story
Laura was 38 when a persistent cough, fatigue, congestion, and occasional coughing of blood led to imaging during a routine Veterans Administration visit in April 2023. A chest X-ray appeared to show a 6 mm nodule in her right lung, but a CT scan showed that…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Lyn’s Patient Story
Lyn Smith’s lung-cancer diagnosis forced her to confront mortality, stigma, and a major change in her role within the family. She had spent much of her life caring for other people, including her 4 adult daughters, and initially found it difficult to let…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Bob’s Patient Story
Bob Neary was diagnosed with lung cancer in July 2012 at age 63. He underwent radiation and chemotherapy, but died from the disease 7 months later in February 2013. His father had also died from lung cancer at the same age. Bob was a husband, father…
Read this storyEGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Story
In February 2021, an emergency evaluation for a possible abdominal problem unexpectedly found a mass in the upper lobe of the right lung. Further testing led to a diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma. Tumor testing identified an EGFR exon 19…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Katherine’s Patient Story
Katherine “Kat” Adelufosi initially dismissed a lingering illness, but symptoms persisted for weeks and led to tests and scans. On October 24, she learned that she had Stage IV lung cancer. The diagnosis was especially unexpected because she had never smoked…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer Patient Story
At age 30, while completing an oral and maxillofacial surgery residency, the patient developed worsening back pain, muscle spasms, difficulty walking, and numbness in the legs. An emergency MRI showed lesions throughout the spine and a compression fracture at…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Jill’s Patient Story
Jill Feldman lost multiple family members to lung cancer before receiving her own diagnosis. Those losses and her personal experience shaped a long-term commitment to building patient communities and helping people affected by lung cancer find support…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Frank’s Survivor Story
Frank Sierawski was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in his 30s, when his three children were six, four, and two. The diagnosis affected the entire family. His children were young enough to remember little of the treatment, while his wife Kathryn carried…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Story
In the winter of 2018, a 31-year-old woman developed a lingering cough shortly after celebrating her first wedding anniversary with her husband, Jack. She was healthy, active, and had no major risk factors, but testing led to a diagnosis of Stage IV…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Valerie’s Patient Story
Valerie Brown had symptoms for several months before a CT scan found an abnormality in her lung. A needle biopsy confirmed lung cancer, and she underwent a lobectomy in March 2012. Recovery was painful, but she reached five years with no evidence of disease…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Jill’s Patient Story
Jill described a lung-cancer diagnosis as being dropped without warning into an unfamiliar country. Medical language, appointments, scans, and treatment decisions all arrived at once, making it difficult to navigate care alone. Her experience included…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Martine’s Survivor Story
Martine was 66 and recently retired when she told her lung cancer story. Her diagnosis dated back to summer 2018, after severe pain in her spine and back kept waking her at night and did not improve with anti-inflammatory medication. A blood test showed…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Mary’s Patient Story
Mary first went to her doctor in January 2021 because she was short of breath. At first, the problem seemed like it might be an infection. Her doctor still sent her for blood tests and a chest X-ray. The blood tests were clear, but the X-ray showed a shadow…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Katia’s Survivor Story
Katia was 46 when lung cancer was found in an unexpected way. She first had an ovarian cyst emergency and abdominal pain that led to imaging. After surgery for peritonitis, a PET scan between Christmas and New Year 2014 showed what had initially seemed to be…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Liz’s Survivor Story
Alexia was 23 when her mother, Liz, was diagnosed with lung cancer. As Liz’s eldest daughter, Alexia remembers the first reaction as anger, confusion, and fear. The word cancer immediately brought thoughts of death because her grandfather had lung cancer at…
Read this storySmall Cell Lung Cancer: François’s Patient Story
Françoise tells the caregiver side of her husband François’s small cell lung cancer. At the announcement, she felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath her. Every morning, she woke hoping it had been a nightmare, then had to face the reality of the…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Liz’s Patient Story
Jacques tells the story of his wife Liz’s lung cancer from the caregiver perspective. They had been together for 25 years when the diagnosis arrived. Jacques remembers the shock of hearing the words lung cancer and seeing Liz’s fear as they left the doctor’s…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Agnès’s Patient Story
Agnès was 59 when lung cancer was diagnosed after a trip with her husband Daniel in summer 2016. She began coughing heavily and first thought she had caught a cold from traveling with air conditioning. Her family doctor became concerned because the lower part…
Read this storyNon-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Jode’s Patient Story
Jode tells the caregiver story of her husband, who was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in 2010 and was initially given only 3 to 6 months to live. He received 33 cycles of chemotherapy over 1 year. During that first year, he was often bedridden, did…
Read this story