Stage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Ashley's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Biomarkers
- EGFR-positive; T790M mutation
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Both lungs
- Treatment
- targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Diagnostic workup included CT, bronchoscopy, needle biopsy, and thoracic surgery to remove lung tissue for diagnosis
- Earlier tests had been non-diagnostic
- Series description names later osimertinib/Tagrisso targeted therapy for EGFR-positive T790M disease
- Traditional infusion chemotherapy was not described in this segment.
What happened, in summary
Ashley was 36 when an unrelated gynecologic infection led to the discovery of lung cancer. She was admitted for a Bartholin gland infection, and an abdominal CT scan incidentally captured the lower part of her lungs. Small lung nodules were seen. At first, infection seemed like a possible explanation, but repeat imaging 2 weeks later still showed the nodules, so she was sent to a pulmonologist. Breathing tests were normal. A bronchoscopy and then a needle biopsy were both non-diagnostic. Ashley had more than 100 tiny nodules across both lungs, most 1 mm or smaller, with one larger nodule used for biopsy. A thoracic surgeon then removed lung tissue so the pathology could be reviewed, including by Mayo Clinic in Arizona. About 1 week later, Ashley was told it was non-small cell lung cancer. The diagnosis was shocking because she had never smoked, had no clear lung symptoms, and had no family history of lung cancer. The video description for her series identifies her cancer as EGFR-positive with a T790M mutation and says targeted therapy with osimertinib/Tagrisso later allowed pill treatment instead of traditional chemotherapy. As of August 2021, Ashley had been living with incurable but treatable lung cancer for almost 4 years.
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.