Lung Cancer: Katie's Survivor Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- surgery and rehabilitation
- Outcome
- Survivorship / Completed Treatment
Treatment course, step by step
- After consulting 7 doctors, surgery was delayed until after delivery; 3 weeks after giving birth, surgery removed the cancer and half of the left lung, followed by physical therapy.
What happened, in summary
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 question was whether to have surgery during pregnancy or wait another 6 months until after delivery.
The first doctor recommended immediate surgery, but Katie and her family pursued more opinions. She met with 7 doctors, and 2 were comfortable waiting until after the baby was born. The plan carried a risk that recurrent bleeding could force emergency lung surgery, but Katie chose to wait. She delivered a healthy son, Tommy, on November 7. Three weeks later, successful surgery removed the cancer along with half of her left lung.
After physical therapy, Katie returned to running. She had completed 5K and half-marathon events before cancer and had run a 5K just 10 days before she began coughing up blood. Although she felt survivor’s guilt because she did not need chemotherapy or radiation, sharing her story and training gave her a way to support others. She was preparing to run her first 26.2-mile marathon in Paris on April 13, 2025, alongside her sister Bridget.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by LUNGevity. Read the original in full
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team.