Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Tim's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Biomarkers
- High PD-L1 expression
- Sex
- Male
- Spread to
- Other lung lobes / lung nodules
- Treatment
- surgery, immunotherapy, a clinical trial and palliative care
- Outcome
- Living With Cancer
Treatment course, step by step
- Upper left lobectomy on 29 June 2016; chemotherapy was not needed initially because lymph nodes were negative
- 2018 recurrence with wedge resection confirming Stage IV NSCLC in other lung lobes
- observation while nodules grew slowly
- Keytruda planned from 18 March 2021 after high PD-L1 testing
- Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics Protocol; PaCES early palliative-care project discussed.
What happened, in summary
Tim Monds was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016 after chest and left-shoulder pain led to imaging and then further testing. He was 57, had never smoked, and initially had Stage I disease. Surgery removed the upper left lobe of his lung on 29 June 2016, and because his lymph nodes were negative, chemotherapy was not needed at that point. For about 2 years, follow-up CT scans showed no sign of cancer. In 2018, the cancer returned with new nodules in his lungs. A wedge resection confirmed that his non-small cell lung cancer had spread to other lung lobes, making it Stage IV. The nodules grew slowly at first, so his team monitored them. Later, biomarker testing showed high PD-L1 expression, and Keytruda was planned from 18 March 2021. Tim also became part of a precision-oncology protocol aimed at identifying tailored treatment options. In the March 2024 Lung Cancer Voices episode, he joined clinicians and nurses to discuss the PaCES project, which focuses on early, systematic palliative care for lung cancer. His story shows Stage IV lung cancer care as long-term management, biomarker-guided treatment, and advocacy working together. The episode places his experience inside a larger care model where palliative support can begin early, not only at the end of life.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Lung Cancer Voices. 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