What happened, in summary

Donnita was diagnosed at 68 with Stage IA2 non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma even though she had no symptoms. Years earlier, she had asked for a low-dose lung cancer screening CT because of her smoking history and family history. After a 5-year gap during COVID, anxiety about prior care, and family changes, she moved to a new practice and again requested screening. This time, the scan triggered an urgent call the same afternoon. A PET scan showed the suspicious nodule lit up. Her pulmonologist and thoracic surgeon agreed not to rely on a preoperative biopsy because a negative result might miss the cancer; instead, they moved quickly to surgery. Within about 6 weeks of the screening scan, Donnita had robotic surgery. During the operation, the first tissue sample was atypical and the second was positive for cancer. The surgeon removed 3 wedge sections rather than the larger segment removal originally considered because calcification increased risk. Margins were clear, and he felt good about the oncologic result. After surgery, Donnita struggled with fear of recurrence, survivor’s guilt, and stigma around lung cancer, especially after meeting people diagnosed at later stages. As of March 2025, she was living after early-stage surgery, connected to the lung cancer community, and advocating for screening, biomarker testing, and less shame around lung cancer.