Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Clara's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Clara was living with Stage IV lung cancer when a difficult stretch of treatment nearly made her stop. She had already completed 7 rounds of chemotherapy and 10 rounds of radiation. During the summer, she also received immunotherapy, and August scans brought encouraging news: different areas of cancer were shrinking or staying stable. That changed quickly. A later scan showed worsening metastatic disease, including spread to the spleen, while pelvic tumors were causing enough trouble that surgery had been scheduled. Instead, surgery was postponed and a more aggressive chemotherapy drug was started in December. Clara ended up hospitalized again and felt she was doing chemotherapy for everyone else, not for herself. At that point, her oncologist had sent another biopsy sample for Tempus testing. The result unexpectedly showed that her cancer was ALK-positive. Her oncologist was surprised because this mutation had not shown up before, but it immediately opened a new treatment path. Chemotherapy was stopped, and Clara started a daily ALK-targeted therapy pill. The specific drug name was not stated. As of February 2026, the targeted therapy had given her new hope and improved her mobility enough that she no longer needed a walker or cane. Her next scans would help decide whether pelvic tumor surgery was still possible.