What happened, in summary

Ginger Tam sought care for a persistent cough and learned that she had Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. The diagnosis was devastating for the single mother, whose daughter was 8 at the time. She sought a second opinion at a research hospital and became closely involved in finding treatment options.

Initial chemotherapy did not stop the cancer. Erlotinib (Tarceva), an EGFR-targeted therapy, then produced an almost complete response, but the cancer later progressed. Ginger joined a clinical trial aimed at the EGFR change driving resistance, followed by more chemotherapy and another period on erlotinib.

A later clinical trial of osimertinib (Tagrisso) controlled her cancer for 2 years with few side effects, allowing her to exercise, care for her daughter, and travel. When the cancer progressed again, she tried another trial and later entered a study combining osimertinib with necitumumab.

Ginger credited clinical trials, self-advocacy, faith, and her daughter with helping her keep going. She lived more than 5 years after her metastatic diagnosis. Ginger died on February 10, 2018.