Stage 4 Lung Cancer: 155 Real Stories
155 stories match lung cancer and stage 4. 104 of them mention targeted therapy.
Stage 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: 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 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 storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Usha’s Patient Story
Usha Jain, a retired UC Berkeley professor, was diagnosed in July 2018 with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer despite having no smoking history. Her daughter, Amita Jain, was both a physician and caregiver, yet still found the lung cancer decision-making…
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 storyStage IV HER2-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Glenna’s Survivor Story
Glenna’s lung cancer story began in December 2022 with a nagging cough. She was not especially worried at first because she already had a silent reflux diagnosis, but by March the cough had worsened. Medication changes and a reflux referral did not solve the…
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 EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lexi’s Patient Story
Lexi was 39 when she introduced herself as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, and someone living with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Her symptoms had started about 2 years earlier with left shoulder pain, weight loss, and then severe pain in her…
Read this storyStage 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 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 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 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: 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 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 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 IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Gerri’s Patient Story
Gerri first noticed a slight cough that would not go away and a drop in stamina on the StairMaster. Before a planned hiking trip to Patagonia, she saw her doctor to check whether she was well enough for travel vaccinations. Her lungs sounded clear, but the…
Read this storyStage IV KRAS Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Maureen’s Patient Story
Maureen’s lung cancer was found by accident. After an infection, she had a CT scan that showed a spot on her lung. She was told to follow up in 6 months, and in May 2015 she was diagnosed with Stage I non-small cell lung cancer. For several years, the cancer…
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: Karen’s Patient Story
Karen was 47 when sharp back and shoulder pain sent her to the emergency room during a blizzard. She had never smoked, had no family history, and considered herself healthy, so the discovery of a large lung tumor was a shock. Karen was initially diagnosed…
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 IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Laura’s Patient Story
Laura Greco’s lung cancer record needs a major subtype correction: this was lung cancer, not colon cancer. Her initial diagnosis in 2015 was Stage IIIA non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer driven by an ALK translocation. Initial treatment included 2…
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 IV Lung Cancer: Lorie’s Patient Story
Lorie Young was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in March 2026 after a 1.2-inch tumor in the lower left lung was found by chance during a routine physical. A robotic bronchoscopy biopsy and other tests confirmed the diagnosis. Because the cancer had…
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