Stage I Lung Cancer: Lauren's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage I
- Biomarkers
- CD56-positive neuroendocrine tumor; no gene mutations reported
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- diagnostic workup, bronchoscopy and tumor debulking
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- Years of breathing symptoms, recurrent bronchitis or pneumonia, fevers, and chronic wheeze were treated as asthma or infections
- Chest X-ray showed a collapsed right lung, and CT later found an airway tumor
- Bronchoscopy on January 6, 2022 removed most of the obstructing tumor, reopened the right-lung airway, and provided biopsy tissue
- Some tumor was left because full removal during bronchoscopy was considered too risky
- Biopsy showed a CD56-positive neuroendocrine tumor
- Later definitive surgery or systemic therapy was not described in this record.
What happened, in summary
Lauren Koy was 25 when years of breathing problems finally led to a lung cancer diagnosis. Since childhood, she had been treated for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infections, and upper-respiratory infections. She often wheezed, spiked unexplained fevers, and missed activities she loved, including hiking and running. In 2021, her symptoms became harder to explain. She had repeated infections, chest tightness, leg pain, and a fever that reached 104 degrees. An X-ray showed that her right lung had collapsed, but she was first told the cause might be mucus or scar tissue. Lauren and her mother pushed for a CT scan instead of waiting. The scan showed a tumor blocking the airway to her right lung. On 6 January 2022, she had a bronchoscopy. Doctors removed most of the tumor, opened the airway enough for the lung to re-expand, and biopsied the tissue. Some tumor was left because removing all of it during that procedure was considered too risky. Biopsy showed a CD56-positive neuroendocrine tumor, described as slow growing and possibly present for many years. As of January 2024, her story centered on finally being diagnosed and having the airway reopened after years of symptoms.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by The Patient Story. 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.