EGFR Lung Cancer: Caroline's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

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 Anderson, learned she had an EGFR mutation. That led Caroline’s mother to testing, then Caroline herself. Caroline tested positive for the EGFR T790M mutation. Her mother later had Stage I lung cancer treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering. After Caroline had her baby, her first CT scan showed lung nodules. She chose to work with her mother’s thoracic surgeon and had surgery in October 2022. The recovery was complicated: she had a chest tube for 2 months and had to return to the operating room twice. Caroline herself was not described as Stage IV. The safer record is germline EGFR T790M-associated lung nodules / lung cancer risk, formal stage not specified, with surgery and ongoing surveillance. Caroline now has CT screening every 6 months to monitor remaining nodules and expects lifelong follow-up. Her experience also led her to meet a physician-researcher focused on EGFR T790M and to speak publicly so other families understand inherited lung cancer risk.