What happened, in summary

Shauna had just turned 51 when a cough lingered for months after a respiratory illness. During a lunch break, she went to urgent care, where an X-ray showed a mass in her right lung. A needle biopsy and scans followed, including brain MRI, PET, chest CT, and abdomen imaging. The cancer was Stage IV because there was a primary tumor in the right lung and innumerable nodules in both lungs. Within a few weeks, biomarker testing showed the cancer was ALK-positive. Shauna started a first TKI at full dose. Early side effects included bradycardia and pneumonitis, so her oncologist lowered the dose. At half dose, the side effects improved and the treatment still worked; the original tumor shrank about 40%, and the disease stayed stable. She later returned to full dose and remained on that first TKI for about 5 years. She never had no evidence of disease, but stability gave her time with her family and grandchildren. Around 2022 and again in 2023, she had radiation to target small areas of growth in the left lung while staying on the first TKI. After more small growth, she switched to a newer TKI around August. As of September 2025, her latest scan was stable, and clinical trials were a future consideration rather than a current treatment.