Stage II Lung Cancer: Att's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Att Callahan was 70 when months of coughing, followed by coughing up blood, led to testing and a Stage IIB lung cancer diagnosis. She did not smoke, was not overweight, and considered herself healthy, so the diagnosis was confusing and frightening. At MD Anderson, her team repeated key testing, including biopsy, brain MRI, and CT scan. She had a walnut-sized tumor at the bottom of her right lung, and biopsy of the tumor and lymph nodes showed the cancer had not spread beyond her lungs. Att enrolled in a clinical trial using chemotherapy plus immunotherapy before surgery. The goal was to help the immune system recognize cancer cells before the tumor was removed, lowering the risk that microscopic disease would remain afterward. Every 3 weeks, she received oleclumab, durvalumab, paclitaxel, and carboplatin. By the start of her third cycle, the tumor had shrunk by about one-third. After 4 cycles, she had a lobectomy on January 2, 2024. After surgery, the plan was 12 months of immunotherapy with oleclumab and durvalumab. Treatment caused hair loss, numbness in her feet, dry mouth, and fatigue, but some side effects improved over time. As of July 2024, Att had completed her fifth post-surgery immunotherapy cycle, returned monthly for treatment, and had scans every other month, with good news so far.