What happened, in summary

Linnea Olson was 45 when she was first diagnosed with lung cancer. Her initial diagnosis was Stage I, and she had surgery that removed most of her left lung, followed by chemotherapy. The first scan after chemotherapy showed something back in her lungs, forcing her to shift from expecting cure to living with advanced disease. By 2008, she had run out of treatment options. Her oncologist told her she might have 3 to 5 months left. A biopsy was then sent for genetic testing, which found an ALK mutation. That result changed everything. At Mass General, Linnea joined a clinical trial targeting ALK and became the fourth person in the world with non-small cell lung cancer to try that experimental therapy. It worked. Over the next 12 years, Mass General became like a second home, and her medical team became like family. She continued through additional phase clinical trials and was on her third phase clinical trial when sharing her story. Linnea was clear that these treatments were not a cure; they controlled the cancer for a time and required living with uncertainty. She continues to live with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer through long-term clinical-trial treatment.