What happened, in summary

Bill Smith had no symptoms when a routine preoperative physical in 2010 led his doctor to order a chest X-ray and refer him to a lung specialist. He was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. A full-body scan also found 2 tumors in his brain, and he had gamma knife brain surgery followed by chemotherapy. Later, doctors found a cancerous tumor in his liver. Severe shoulder pain then revealed that the cancer had also spread to bone. In all, Bill had 2 gamma knife brain surgeries and orthopedic surgery to remove part of his humerus below the shoulder. He was treated with 7 different chemotherapy medications, but the fatigue and loss of energy became overwhelming. When chemotherapy became too much, his team recommended genomic testing to see whether a more tailored option might help. Immunotherapy changed his quality of life quickly. As of October 2016, Bill was receiving immunotherapy every 2 weeks, with no chemotherapy or radiation treatments at that time. He said all of his tumors had shrunk and the treatment seemed to have the cancer under control. He described feeling as if he were living again and credited his Cleveland Clinic care team with helping him feel supported while continuing treatment for Stage IV lung cancer.