What happened, in summary

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 there, and a PET scan showed only that mass lighting up. A first bronchoscopy could not reach the difficult location near blood vessels and the heart, but a later robotic bronchoscopy confirmed cancer in August 2022. In September 2022, Julie had a lower left lobectomy. Pathology showed a 3 cm tumor, about 9 mm negative margins, and visceral pleural invasion, making the diagnosis Stage IB lung adenocarcinoma. Recovery included a pleural effusion that had to be drained in January. At first, she was told she did not qualify for adjuvant therapy, but biomarker results showed an EGFR exon 19 deletion. After seeking better EGFR-focused guidance, Julie began Tagrisso/osimertinib at Duke to help hold back possible microscopic disease. She now has CT chest and abdomen scans with blood work every 3 months and MRI every 6 months. Her treatment included surgery, Tagrisso, and surveillance; chemotherapy and radiation were not described.