Stage IV Lung Cancer: Karen's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- Rare mutation affecting about 3% of lung cancer patients; mutation not named
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Rib/bone involvement reported through recurrent tumor removal with 2 ribs
- Treatment
- surgery and chemotherapy
- Outcome
- Setback / Progression
Treatment course, step by step
- Initial treatment removed the left upper lung and multiple lymph nodes
- Chemotherapy followed surgery
- After recurrence with lower back pain, surgery removed a tumor and 2 ribs
- The story mentions 2 FDA-approved drugs for her rare mutation
- It does not state that she received either drug.
What happened, in summary
Karen was 47 when sharp back and shoulder pain sent her to the emergency room during a blizzard. She had never smoked, had no family history, and considered herself healthy, so the discovery of a large lung tumor was a shock. Karen was initially diagnosed with Stage II lung cancer, not Stage IV. Treatment began with surgery to remove her left upper lung and multiple lymph nodes, followed by chemotherapy. After that, Karen had clear scans for years. Just over 8 years later, lower back pain led her back to the doctor, and the cancer had returned. This time she described the diagnosis as Stage IV lung cancer. Surgeons removed a tumor and 2 ribs. Testing identified a rare mutation affecting about 3% of lung cancer patients, but the mutation is not named in the story. The story noted that FDA-approved drugs exist for her rare mutation, but it did not say Karen received either drug. Despite the recurrence, Karen continued to bike about 100 miles a week, walk, study French, plan travel, and frame her story around hope made possible by research.
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.