Surgery for Lung Cancer: 100 Real Stories
100 stories match lung cancer and surgery. 47 of them mention chemotherapy.
Lung Cancer: Felipe’s Patient Story
Felipe first noticed something was wrong while running a half marathon in 2019. A cough and unusual shortness of breath persisted despite treatment for chronic bronchitis and asthma. By 2021, after worsening symptoms and delays in care during the COVID-19…
Read this storyStage III Lung Cancer Survivor Story
An anonymized 72-year-old man was 5 years beyond surgery for Stage III lung cancer. The operation left him with one lung, yet he was described as breathing normally and remaining able to walk. His lung cancer was in remission. The raw text did not identify…
Read this storyStage II KRAS Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Camila’s Patient Story
At 24, Camila Bermúdez García was preparing to apply to medical school when she coughed up about a spoonful of blood while volunteering at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic. An X-ray showed a lung abnormality, but she was repeatedly treated for pneumonia. Over nearly…
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 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 Lung Cancer: Michael’s Patient Story
Michael O’Donnell is a Vietnam War veteran who receives his lung-cancer testing and treatment through the Dallas VA, with access to a lung-cancer specialist from UT Southwestern when needed. His cancer was Stage IV at diagnosis. He had smoked until two weeks…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Marnie’s Patient Story
Marnie Clark first noticed that one leg felt unusual. The problem became impossible to dismiss when the leg became paralyzed. Early tests focused on the leg and found nothing, so Marnie and her husband paid for additional examinations rather than continue…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Katie’s Survivor Story
Katie was 12 weeks pregnant with her second child when she was diagnosed with neuroendocrine lung cancer in 2023. Running was one of her favorite activities, and she asked what the diagnosis would mean for that part of her life. She was told that she would…
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 Lung Cancer: Mary’s Patient Story
Mary Lynn Moser lived through 15 years of cancer, including 5 years with breast cancer and nearly 10 years with lung cancer. A radiologist noticed a lung spot while reading a mammogram, allowing the lung cancer to be detected at Stage III rather than after…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Randi’s Patient Story
Randi Young began smoking at 17 or 18 and stopped at age 31. On April 15, 1984, she decided to quit; the next day she went for a run and never smoked another cigarette. Within 1.5 months she completed her first 10K, ran her first marathon later that year, and…
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 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: Liz’s Survivor Story
Liz was 43 when symptoms that seemed unrelated to her lungs led to a cancer diagnosis. In late 2014 and January 2015, she had heavy, painful legs and swollen ankles. Blood tests showed a clear drop in red blood cells. Because her doctor was worried about a…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer Patient Story
This story was shared by the sister of a woman with aggressive lung cancer and bone metastases. The cancer involved the skull and spine and had caused a clavicle fracture. Around the same time, doctors also found a localized 4 cm breast cancer. She received…
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 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 storyLung Cancer: Julie’s Survivor Story
Julie was 73 and already knew what cancer treatment could mean, having survived lymphoma in 2004. In February 2015, she developed what seemed like the flu, but her fever stayed high. Her general practitioner ordered a chest X-ray, then quickly connected her…
Read this storyLung Cancer: Carole’s Survivor Story
Carole shares the lung cancer experience of her mother, who was 83 when the illness was discovered. During the winter of 2015, her mother had a long-lasting cold or flu-like illness and did not feel well. Because she had previously had lymphoma in 2004, the…
Read this storyStage IV Lung Cancer: Thierry’s Survivor Story
Thierry was 55 when unusual neurologic symptoms led to his lung cancer diagnosis in May 2014. He had headaches for a week, seemed “strange” to people around him, struggled to handle objects, felt numbness around his mouth, and behaved unusually while driving…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer Survivor Story
In January 2007, this woman received a notice after a health screening that she needed more detailed testing. The first hospital raised concern for lung cancer and recommended removal of the left upper lobe. She felt stunned and sought a second opinion…
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…
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