Surgery for Lung Cancer: 100 Real Stories
100 stories match lung cancer and surgery. 47 of them mention chemotherapy.
Stage 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 I Lung Cancer: Jennifer’s Survivor Story
Jennifer Rosato Perea learned she had lung cancer only because imaging was ordered before a hysterectomy in late 2020. She had no symptoms and did not think lung cancer could apply to her because she was not a smoker and had no family history. After the MRI…
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: 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 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 storyEGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Donna’s Patient Story
Donna Thompson was 45 when an emergency-room visit for high blood sugar unexpectedly revealed a lung mass. She had no smoking history, so lung cancer seemed unlikely to everyone around her, but scans and biopsy confirmed Stage II non-small cell lung cancer…
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 III EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lauren’s Survivor Story
Lauren was 38 and celebrating her first year as a mother when she began training for a half marathon and noticed what felt like a pulled muscle in her neck. An initial X-ray was explained as a possible old injury, but Lauren did not feel that answer fit, so…
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 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…
Read this storyStage I Lung Cancer: Dave’s Survivor Story
In 1998, Dave Bjork experienced pneumonia more than once in the same area of his lung. After the second episode, his doctor ordered a CT scan and found a tumor. Hearing that he had cancer immediately made Dave fear for his life, his insurance coverage and the…
Read this storyStage III Lung Cancer: Bonnie’s Patient Story
Bonnie Ulrich was 45 when pain shooting down her arm led her to see her doctor. Because she had a smoking history, her doctor routinely ordered chest X-rays, and this time the imaging showed something concerning. After 2 scans and a biopsy, Bonnie learned she…
Read this storyStage II KRAS Lung Adenocarcinoma: Roy’s Survivor Story
Roy was a 50-year-old commercial airline pilot and Air Force veteran when he noticed a subtle rattle in his chest while lying down at night. An early X-ray was interpreted as something like pneumonia, and because he was a nonsmoker with no family history of…
Read this storyStage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Jake’s Patient Story
Jake was 15 when severe migraines began in late 2012. For about 25 days, he hid the pain, took large amounts of Advil, and kept playing sports until his mother pushed for an MRI. The scan showed a golf-ball-sized tumor in his cerebellum. After brain surgery…
Read this storyStage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Susie’s Survivor Story
Susie started smoking as a teenager because it was what many of her friends did. She tried to give up several times over the years but found it difficult. Later, she developed lung cancer that she directly linked to smoking. The title identifies her diagnosis…
Read this storyStage II Lung Cancer: Michelle’s Patient Story
Michelle’s lung cancer was found while doctors were investigating a completely different problem. After a fall, she developed persistent pain that moved into her jaw, head, and neck and caused migraine-like symptoms. Months of physical therapy, pain…
Read this storyStage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Kelsey’s Patient Story
Kelsey was 36, a mother of 4, and working as a SoulCycle manager when severe back pain began changing her life. At first, she blamed work, commuting, aging, or a pulled muscle. Then she collapsed while coaching baseball and later had to crawl to the bathroom…
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