Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Duane's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Biomarkers
- ALK-positive / ALK gene mutation identified by molecular or genomic testing
- Sex
- Male
- Treatment
- targeted therapy, a clinical trial and surveillance
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Diagnosed in 2019 at age 50 with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer after 2 nighttime fainting episodes
- Molecular testing found an ALK mutation
- While waiting about 6 weeks for results, he started an oral targeted therapy at Moffitt
- After ALK status was confirmed, he joined a Johns Hopkins clinical trial for an ALK-targeted treatment
- He continued periodic trial monitoring in Baltimore.
What happened, in summary
Duane Steiner was 50 when 2 nighttime fainting spells led to an emergency-room visit and a Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in 2019. He had never smoked, so lung cancer was not something he expected. Molecular and genomic testing on the tumor later showed ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer, meaning an ALK gene mutation was helping drive the cancer. The testing took about 6 weeks, and because his symptoms were severe, Duane started an oral targeted therapy at Moffitt Cancer Center while waiting for results. Once the ALK mutation was confirmed, he looked for a treatment option aimed at that specific mutation and was accepted into a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. The trial treatment was designed to be given with standard treatment, so he continued his initial therapy while participating. Hope Lodge made the repeated Baltimore visits possible, including a 4-week stay early in the trial and later monitoring trips. Duane has now lived more than 6 years with Stage IV metastatic ALK-positive lung cancer. He knows the cancer is not curable, but research and clinical trials have given him more time, better quality of life, and a reason to advocate for other patients.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by American Cancer Society. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
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. Read the full disclaimer