Stage III Lung Adenocarcinoma: Becky's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Becky Manning was a 47-year-old active working mother who had never smoked when months of chest pain, cough and abnormal imaging finally led to a lung cancer diagnosis. Her symptoms were first treated as pneumonia, then other causes were considered, but she continued to feel that something was wrong. A lung biopsy eventually showed cancer, and she went to Memorial Sloan Kettering for another opinion. Her MSK thoracic surgeon diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma and recommended surgery first. In February 2018, Becky had a 3-hour operation that removed all of the tumor. The tumor was larger than expected and was confirmed as Stage III rather than Stage II, although none of her lymph nodes were positive. Because there could still be cancer cells left behind, chemotherapy was recommended. Becky chose a regimen that would fit her life as much as possible; it caused tiredness and nausea, but she responded well. After chemotherapy, she entered a clinical trial of the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) after lung cancer surgery. She stopped nivolumab after 8 months because of fatigue and arthritis. After stopping, her energy and activity gradually improved. She later had no evidence of disease, was no longer on active treatment and returned to MSK every 6 months for follow-up.