Surveillance for Lung Cancer: 54 Real Stories
54 stories match lung cancer and surveillance. 25 of them mention surgery.
Stage 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 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 storyStage 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 storyLung Cancer: Xavier’s Patient Story
In spring 2022, Xavier Sanders was placed on Air Force reserve duty after repeatedly testing positive for COVID-19. Further evaluation found a spot in his lung, and a follow-up 3 months later showed that it had doubled in size. Biopsy confirmed cancer, and a…
Read this storyStage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Robert’s Survivor Story
Robert Tumanic’s lung cancer was found through follow-up after a pulmonary embolism in 2015. A CT scan showed areas that needed monitoring, and 10 months later they were confirmed as multifocal Stage I non-small cell lung cancer. An oncologist recommended…
Read this storyLung Cancer: François’s Survivor Story
François was 62 when he shared his experience of lung cancer. The first clear warning sign came at work, when he coughed blood into a white tissue. He waited 4 days before telling his wife, Françoise, because he did not want to frighten her. His doctor…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Heidi’s Survivor Story
Heidi was 55, a fitness trainer, and a lifelong health enthusiast when lung cancer was found by accident. In October 2018, she had a CT scan during evaluation of a mildly suspicious ovarian cyst. The ovary was benign, but the chest CT showed a lung mass and…
Read this storyStage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Natalie’s Patient Story
Natalie was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer at 33. By the time her story reached the transplant stage, her cancer had progressed despite 2 clinical trials and 2 different chemotherapies. Her lung function had declined badly; she described…
Read this storyStage I EGFR Lung Cancer: Shira’s Survivor Story
Shira felt completely healthy. She was a lifelong runner, had no lung symptoms, and almost skipped the full-body MRI her husband kept encouraging her to do. The scan found a lung mass but described it as a minor finding if she had no symptoms. Her father, a…
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