Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Robert's Survivor Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage I
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Sex
- Male
- Treatment
- radiation and surveillance
- Outcome
- Survivorship / Surveillance
Treatment course, step by step
- Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) after lung resection was judged unsafe because of severe COPD; steroid therapy for treatment-related complications; quarterly scans over 18 months.
What happened, in summary
Robert Tumanic’s lung cancer was found through follow-up after a pulmonary embolism in 2015. A CT scan showed areas that needed monitoring, and 10 months later they were confirmed as multifocal Stage I non-small cell lung cancer. An oncologist recommended lung resection, but Robert’s family encouraged a second opinion. A Mayo Clinic pulmonologist identified severe COPD and concluded that surgery could have had disastrous consequences.
Robert instead received stereotactic body radiation therapy. He experienced significant complications related to radiation and the steroids used to manage them, but stayed engaged in his care by researching his conditions, adjusting his diet, exercising as much as possible, and asking detailed questions. Quarterly scans over the next 18 months showed the treated tumors had resolved.
A year after SBRT, Robert also underwent an aortic-valve replacement, coronary stent placement, and pacemaker implantation. Ninety days later, he learned that the treated lung tumors were resolved, his heart function was normal, and 2 additional suspicious lung areas had also resolved. As of May 2019, the treated sites remained stable, no new tumors had appeared, and no further lung-cancer therapy was required.
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.