Stage IV EGFR Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Lexi's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Biomarkers
- EGFR exon 20 mutation
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Bone — left leg and hip
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, targeted therapy, a clinical trial and surgery
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Shoulder pain, weight loss, severe leg pain, limping, and trouble walking led to imaging
- MRI found a large tumor in the left leg and a smaller tumor in the hip
- Bone biopsy showed metastatic adenocarcinoma consistent with lung cancer
- Later described as EGFR exon 20 metastatic adenocarcinoma
- Treatment included chemotherapy, targeted therapy, a drug trial, and surgical removal of the primary lung mass
- Specific drug names are not reported
- Side effects included severe hand and skin problems and serious mouth sores or inflammation.
What happened, in summary
Lexi was 39 when she introduced herself as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, and someone living with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Her symptoms had started about 2 years earlier with left shoulder pain, weight loss, and then severe pain in her left leg that made her limp. After months of worsening pain, her young daughter pointed out that Lexi would take anyone else to the doctor if they hurt that much. An orthopedic visit first suggested hip dysplasia, but Lexi pushed for an MRI. The scan found a massive tumor in her left leg and a smaller one in her hip, with fracture risk so serious that she was told not to put weight on the leg. A bone biopsy later showed metastatic adenocarcinoma consistent with lung cancer. Lexi described her cancer as EGFR exon 20 metastatic adenocarcinoma. Her treatment has included chemotherapy, targeted therapy, a drug trial, and surgical removal of the primary lung mass. Specific drug names were not reported. She also described difficult side effects, including hand and skin problems and grade 3 mucositis. Her story is best framed as living with Stage IV EGFR exon 20 lung cancer while continuing treatment and advocacy.
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.