What happened, in summary

Leah Phillips was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer at age 43 in December 2019. Her first symptoms were a persistent dry cough, chest heaviness, shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss, and later coughing up blood. Several visits were treated as post-viral cough, asthma, allergies, or pneumonia before she pushed for more testing.

A CT scan showed concerning bone lesions, and hospital testing found malignant fluid around her right lung. A bone biopsy from her spine confirmed non-small cell lung cancer. Biomarker testing then showed an EGFR exon 19 deletion, which changed her treatment path.

Leah started Tagrisso/osimertinib on December 30, 2019. Early on, she also needed repeated thoracenteses to drain fluid. She transferred care to Vanderbilt and had regular PET and CT scans. About 1 year into treatment, her bone metastases in the spine and pelvis were described as healing or sclerotic, and the primary right-lung tumor had shrunk by about 70%. In late 2021, she had 8 sessions of SBRT radiation to the right middle-lobe lung tumor.

As of July 2024, Leah continued daily Tagrisso. Her Stage IV cancer was stable, with no reported progression, and she emphasized self-advocacy, second opinions, and trusting symptoms when they do not fit routine explanations.