Stage IV ALK Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Marley's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Biomarkers
- ALK-positive
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Chest lymph nodes; axillary lymph nodes; lymph nodes near kidneys; malignant pleural fluid/pleura
- Treatment
- surveillance
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Symptoms started with fatigue, lingering cough, nausea, reflux-like symptoms, and shortness of breath
- MRI for a liver hemangioma unexpectedly showed a collapsed left lung
- CT scan raised concern for lung cancer
- Biopsy confirmed lung adenocarcinoma
- PET scan showed spread to several lymph-node areas, and drained lung fluid also contained cancer cells
- Diagnosed with ALK-positive Stage IV NSCLC
- Specific cancer treatment is not reported
- Scans every 3 months monitor cancer spots.
What happened, in summary
Marley first explained away symptoms as ordinary life: being tired as a mom, recovering from illness, seasonal allergies, anxiety, acid reflux, or being out of shape. By spring, hills and stairs made her breathless, nausea affected her whole day, and she had to push to be heard. An MRI that was meant to check a known liver hemangioma unexpectedly showed enough of her left lung to reveal that it had collapsed. A CT scan and bloodwork followed, and the online result raised suspicion for lung cancer. During a family trip, Marley received the biopsy result: lung adenocarcinoma. At first, her pulmonologist thought it was at least Stage III. A PET scan then showed spread to lymph nodes in her chest, axillary area, and near her kidneys. Fluid drained from her lung also contained cancer cells. She was diagnosed with ALK-positive Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. A specific cancer treatment was not named, even though the tumor was described as ALK-positive. What is supported is ongoing monitoring with scans every 3 months. Marley is living with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer, with strong family support and hope that evolving medicine may turn the disease into a chronic condition.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Lung Cancer Research Foundation. Read the original in full
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.