Stage I Lung Cancer: Terri's Survivor Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage I
- Biomarkers
- Not reported for patient; family history of lung cancer noted
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- surgery, radiation and surveillance
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- First lung cancer was treated by removing the lower right lung lobe after the nodule changed and biopsy during surgery showed cancer
- Second right-lung cancer was treated with SBRT radiation instead of removing the entire lung
- Third lung cancer in the left lung was treated with surgery using fluorescence-guided imaging
- Two left-lung tumors were removed in the same wedge with clean margins
- Follow-up moved back to every 6 months after stability.
What happened, in summary
Terri Ann DiJulio’s lung cancer was first found by accident after she went to the emergency room with chest pressure. Her heart was fine, but imaging showed a nodule in her right lung. The nodule stayed stable for about 2 years, then changed. During surgery, the biopsy showed cancer, and the surgeon removed the lower right lobe of her lung. She was 44 when the first cancer was diagnosed, and it was early-stage disease without symptoms. After 11 years with no evidence of disease, another small cancer appeared in her right lung. Because removing her entire lung would have been the only surgical option, she chose SBRT, a focused radiation treatment. The side effects were much lighter than surgery, mostly fatigue after treatment. Later, a tumor appeared in her left lung, her stronger lung. Terri Ann chose surgery to preserve future treatment options. A fluorescence-guided imaging agent helped the surgeon find a second small tumor that had not shown on scans, and both tumors were removed in the same wedge with clean margins. As of June 2023, she was considered no evidence of disease, back on 6-month follow-up, and using cycling and advocacy to support the lung cancer community.
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.