Stage IV KRAS Lung Cancer: Rosemary's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- KRAS G12D mutation
- Sex
- female
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy, clinical trial, radiation and targeted therapy
- Outcome
- Stable Disease
Treatment course, step by step
- In 2017, she underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of her left lung.
- She then underwent surgery to remove the upper lobe of her right lung.
- She received chemotherapy after surgery.
- After the cancer returned, she participated in 3 clinical trials.
- She later received several courses of radiation and proton therapy.
- In December 2023, she started the targeted drug daraxonracib in a clinical trial.
- After 14 months on the drug, her cancer had stopped growing.
What happened, in summary
Rosemary Conway was 60 when she was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2017 after developing a raspy voice and coughing up a small amount of blood. She had never smoked and was an active runner. In September, surgeons removed the lower lobe of her left lung and a plum-sized mass. The following month, she had the upper right lobe removed with an apple-sized mass. Rosemary then received chemotherapy, but the cancer returned about 7 months later. Testing identified a KRAS G12D mutation. Over the following years, she participated in 3 clinical trials. Two did not control the cancer, and she later underwent several courses of radiation and proton therapy. In December 2023, at age 68, Rosemary entered a trial of daraxonracib, a targeted drug designed to block RAS-driven cancer. She took the treatment as a nightly pill. After 14 months, her cancer had stopped growing. She was back in the gym, walking and lifting weights, while also advocating for other people with lung cancer.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Dana-Farber. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
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. Read the full disclaimer