Stage IV EGFR Lung Cancer: Dann's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- EGFR mutation; T790M mutation
- Sex
- Male
- Spread to
- Not reported
- Treatment
- a clinical trial and systemic therapy
- Outcome
- In Memory
Treatment course, step by step
- Multiple standard treatments and clinical trials over 18 years; individual regimens, drug names, surgery, and radiation details are not specified.
What happened, in summary
Dann Wonser was 49 in 2006 when an X-ray for possible broken ribs unexpectedly revealed Stage IV lung cancer. Biomarker testing showed EGFR and T790M mutations. He lived with lung cancer for 18 years before passing away on June 30, 2024. Across those years, he received multiple standard treatments and clinical trials, but the public story does not list individual drug names, radiation details, or surgeries. Dann described treatment as a sequence of options that might not last forever, but that could keep him healthy enough to reach the next option if one stopped working. His wife, Genevieve, family, and friends helped him through difficult periods with practical support, messages, food, and steady presence. Dann also used his experience to educate others through his blog and book, Second Wind: Thriving With Cancer. He urged newly diagnosed patients to have hope, let people in, ignore outdated survival statistics, seek experienced specialists, get molecular testing, rethink clinical trials, and care for themselves through exercise, sleep, diet, and attitude. His record captures long-term Stage IV survivorship followed by an In Memory outcome.
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.