Lung Cancer: 296 Real Stories
296 stories match lung cancer. 140 of them mention targeted therapy.
Stage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Bill’s Patient Story
Bill was an active Park City skier, runner, and mountain biker when back pain after shoveling snow turned out to be much more than a pulled muscle. The pain lasted for months, and physical therapy did not help. Before a scheduled MRI, he became unable to walk…
Read this storyEGFR Lung Cancer: Ivy’s Patient Story
Ivy Elkins was remembered by the lung cancer community as an influential patient advocate whose work reached far beyond her own diagnosis. She became a major voice for people affected by EGFR-mutated lung cancer and helped co-found EGFR Resisters, a patient…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Suzanne’s Patient Story
Suzanne was a regular runner who usually covered 5 to 7 miles a day, so feeling sluggish during a morning run in October 2019 seemed like bronchitis at first. She saw her doctor before an upcoming race, and a chest X-ray quickly led to more scans. Within…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Dann’s Patient Story
Dann Wonser was 49 in 2006 when an X-ray for possible broken ribs unexpectedly revealed Stage IV lung cancer. Biomarker testing showed EGFR and T790M mutations. He lived with lung cancer for 18 years before passing away on June 30, 2024. Across those years…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Donna’s Patient Story
Donna Preston was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in January 2015. Her only symptom had been a cough that would not go away. At diagnosis, her 5 children were between 9 and 18 years old, and she wanted to keep family life as normal as possible while still…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Rhonda’s Patient Story
Rhonda Martin was diagnosed in March 2018 with Stage IV non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer. At diagnosis, the cancer had already spread to her brain, spine, hip bone, and lymph nodes. Her first treatment was whole brain radiation. While biopsy results…
Read this storyEGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Joanne’s Patient Story
Joanne’s lung cancer was found by chance in February 2021. She had gone to the emergency room because of what seemed like an abdominal hernia or aneurysm, and an angio CT scan instead showed a mass in the upper lobe of her right lung. She had not had classic…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Anne’s Patient Story
Anne Forth LaPorte was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her public story centers on advocacy, family connection, and remembrance. Anne already understood the impact of lung cancer before her own…
Read this storyEGFR Lung Cancer: Caroline’s Patient Story
Caroline, a nurse practitioner in Louisiana, already knew lung cancer ran through her maternal family. Her aunt had Stage IV lung cancer in her 40s and died within a year. Her grandmother was also diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer and, after care at MD…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Elizabeth’s Patient Story
Elizabeth Moir was 29 and in the third trimester of her second pregnancy when severe chest pain sent her to the emergency room. She was first told the spot on her lung was a calcified granuloma, a small noncancerous area of inflammation. Two months later…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Marley’s Patient Story
Marley first explained away symptoms as ordinary life: being tired as a mom, recovering from illness, seasonal allergies, anxiety, acid reflux, or being out of shape. By spring, hills and stairs made her breathless, nausea affected her whole day, and she had…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Mila’s Patient Story
Mila Gardon Labor, a 58-year-old woman from the Philippines, was first found to have a lung lump during a yearly health exam. It was initially misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis, and she took tuberculosis treatment for 4 months before CT scan and biopsy…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Xavier’s Patient Story
Xavier Sanders was serving in the U.S. Air Force when lung cancer changed the course of his life. After contracting COVID in 2020, he stayed off flying status longer than expected. A physical found a spot on his lung, and about 3 months later the spot had…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Linnea’s Patient Story
Linnea Olson was 45 when she was first diagnosed with lung cancer. Her initial diagnosis was Stage I, and she had surgery that removed most of her left lung, followed by chemotherapy. The first scan after chemotherapy showed something back in her lungs…
Read this storyStage I EGFR Lung Adenocarcinoma: Julie’s Patient Story
Julie was 42 when a routine mammogram indirectly led to a lung cancer diagnosis. The mammogram showed a calcified blood vessel, so her doctor ordered a calcium score CT scan. That scan found a 3 cm mass in her left lung. A chest CT confirmed it was still…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Jay’s Survivor Story
Jay Petri was diagnosed in 2008 and received clearer answers in fall 2009, when a good biopsy showed lung cancer with an ALK mutation. He understood that Stage IV lung cancer was probably terminal, and the diagnosis was followed by major personal loss when he…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Tejal’s Patient Story
Tejal learned she had Stage IV lung cancer from her younger brother, who is a critical care and pulmonology physician. The diagnosis felt isolating and unreal. She was a vegetarian, did not drink, had never smoked, and considered herself physically fit, yet…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Duane’s Patient Story
Duane Steiner was 50 when 2 nighttime fainting spells led to an emergency-room visit and a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in 2019. He had never smoked, so lung cancer was not something he expected. Molecular and genomic testing on the tumor later showed…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Amy’s Patient Story
Amy was diagnosed with Stage IV squamous non-small cell lung cancer on her birthday. About 2 weeks after a flu shot, a lymph node appeared in her neck. At first, she thought it might be a vaccine reaction or infection, but after another 2 weeks she saw her…
Read this storyStage III ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle Bos-Lun, a Vermont state representative, was hospitalized after returning from Nepal with what turned out to be scrub typhus. During that workup, doctors ordered a chest X-ray and saw something they could not explain. About 3 weeks of additional…
Read this storyStage III ROS1 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Wendy’s Survivor Story
Wendy’s lung cancer was found after she pushed for imaging that her doctor initially thought was unnecessary. Months earlier, she had noticed odd sensations in her lungs when she laughed, but reflux was suspected. A benign breast lump later scared her enough…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Duncan’s Patient Story
Duncan Edmonstone was 55 when a seizure led to a sudden Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. He had not had the symptoms people often associate with lung cancer, such as a persistent cough or chest pain. After scans and tests, doctors found advanced lung cancer…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Hakim’s Patient Story
Hakim Rusli developed cough, sputum, and difficulty breathing in early 2011 and went for evaluation in Malaysia. PET-CT testing led to a lung cancer diagnosis. A histology such as non-small cell lung cancer and biomarker results were not shared. Hakim first…
Read this storyStage III Lung Adenocarcinoma: Becky’s Survivor Story
Becky Manning was a 47-year-old active working mother who had never smoked when months of chest pain, cough and abnormal imaging finally led to a lung cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms were first treated as pneumonia, then other causes were considered, but she…
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