What happened, in summary

Laura Greco’s lung cancer record needs a major subtype correction: this was lung cancer, not colon cancer. Her initial diagnosis in 2015 was Stage IIIA non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer driven by an ALK translocation. Initial treatment included 2 rounds of chemotherapy given with 6 weeks of radiation, surgery to remove the mass in her left lower lung, and 4 more rounds of chemotherapy. After returning to work, Laura developed headaches. An MRI showed more than 10 brain tumors, confirming metastatic spread to the brain. She started alectinib after it became available, but liver toxicity interrupted treatment and brain tumors grew. Over the following years, Laura needed brain radiation, emergency brain surgery with additional surgeries, and later treatment for actionable MET amplification. She received alectinib with capmatinib, then further radiation when several brain tumors grew. In 2022, one brain tumor was surgically removed, while another was too intertwined with motor function to remove fully and showed MET and EGFR amplification. A later loratinib/capmatinib attempt caused severe neurologic toxicity, requiring dose reductions and speech therapy. Laura continued advocacy through her “Die, Cancer, Die” campaign. She passed away on July 14, 2024.