Stage IV ALK Lung Adenocarcinoma: Keegan's Survivor Story

What happened, in summary

Keegan Murphy, a retired firefighter and combat veteran, was 41 when a lingering dry cough after a cold led to a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in September 2022. Testing showed adenocarcinoma with an ALK fusion mutation. By then, cancer was present in his lungs, lymph nodes, ribs, and abdomen. Keegan first started chemotherapy near home in Milwaukee, but after a second opinion at MD Anderson, his team recommended stopping chemotherapy and using the ALK-targeted oral therapy alectinib instead. The goal was to use the mutation against the cancer and preserve chemotherapy for later if needed. The response was fast. After 2 months on alectinib, tumors in his lungs had shrunk by about 50%, his lymph nodes were moving back toward normal size, and the area in his abdomen that had previously shown cancer activity no longer lit up on scans. Because of that response, surgery became possible despite his original Stage IV diagnosis. On March 24, 2023, surgeons removed the middle and lower lobes of his right lung. He spent 3 days in the hospital and another week resting. The pathology report showed no living cancer cells in the removed tissue. As of March 2024, Keegan described going from Stage IV lung cancer to no evidence of disease within 6 months, while continuing follow-up care.