Lung Cancer: Regina's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Regina was active, newly married, and learning to swim when years of breathing symptoms finally led to a rare lung cancer diagnosis. For at least a couple of years, she knew something was wrong, but wheezing, coughing, and back pain were repeatedly explained as asthma, allergies, pneumonia, reflux, or long COVID. She had more than 10 chest X-rays that looked normal. As symptoms became constant, she began coughing up small amounts of blood and had pain with breathing. At one point, sections of her lung started collapsing. Regina pushed for advanced imaging, which found a tumor that chest X-rays had missed. The diagnosis unfolded in layers until doctors confirmed neuroendocrine lung cancer, a rare cancer type. She had multiple procedures to begin removing the tumor and then a final surgery to remove part of her lung. The surgical timeline moved quickly, with only about 1 day to prepare once the operation was scheduled. Regina did not receive chemotherapy or radiation. After surgery, she described herself as cancer-free, grateful to be nearing her 43rd birthday, and also afraid that cancer could return. Living with reduced lung capacity changed ordinary activities such as heat, camping, and swimming. As of December 2025, Regina was living with no evidence of active cancer but was also coping with survivor guilt, fear of recurrence, and medical PTSD.