What happened, in summary

Natalie Brown was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in June 2020 after about 6 months of testing, including X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and several biopsies. She had been dismissed at times because of her age and lack of smoking history. During one biopsy, her lung collapsed, and additional tissue taken during the repair confirmed cancer. Her oncologist then explained that it was Stage IV, with disease in both lungs and lymph nodes. Further testing showed the cancer was still confined to the lungs and lymph nodes rather than distant organs. Natalie started chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Her first regimen included carboplatin, Keytruda/pembrolizumab, and another drug whose name was not clearly captured. Treatment was given every 3 weeks. Over 4 years, she spent about 3 years on chemotherapy and about 1 year on immunotherapy. When the cancer progressed, she joined 2 clinical trials: an injection-based trial at Emory and then a 2-drug trial in Nashville. Neither worked, so she returned to chemotherapy about 2–3 months before the story. As of December 2024, the restarted chemotherapy had stopped the cancer’s growth for now. Natalie was also being evaluated for a possible double lung transplant, which would require the cancer to remain confined to her lungs.