Stage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Shyreece's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- ALK-positive mutation identified by FISH testing
- Sex
- Female
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Diagnosis-focused segment: VATS surgery was used to drain fluid compressing the lung and obtain tissue for biopsy; FISH testing identified an ALK-positive mutation.
- No cancer-directed systemic treatment name is reported in this video.
What happened, in summary
Shyreece Pompey had been teaching for 17 years when her first lung cancer symptoms appeared during a school day. While dancing with students during a brain break, her arms suddenly felt heavy, she became deeply fatigued, felt a throb or skipped beat in her chest, and heard wheezing she could not control. About 1 week later, she went to the emergency room. The ER doctor was concerned enough to transfer her by ambulance to another hospital. Early testing did not point to pneumonia or a heart problem, but fluid was compressing her lung. Doctors performed VATS surgery to drain the fluid and collect tissue for biopsy. The tissue showed malignant cancer, and FISH testing identified an ALK-positive mutation. After about 2 weeks in the hospital, Shyreece was told it was Stage IV lung cancer. The diagnosis was especially shocking because she had no smoking history and expected to get cough syrup and return to work. As of March 2022, nearly 8 years after diagnosis, Shyreece was still teaching in a different way: using her experience to advocate, challenge lung cancer stigma, and help other patients understand that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. She also spoke about processing the shock through faith, vulnerability, and the resilience she had built before cancer.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by The Patient Story. 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.