Stage IV Lung Cancer: Steve's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Spread to
- right pelvis, L1 and L2 vertebrae, skull
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and a clinical trial
- Outcome
- Responding Well
Treatment course, step by step
- Steve received chemotherapy, which controlled the cancer at first before it stopped responding.
- After Thanksgiving 2018, he switched to an immune checkpoint inhibitor, which also worked temporarily.
- He then joined a clinical trial of sotorasib and remained on the targeted therapy for about 2 years, with a large reduction in tumor size.
What happened, in summary
Steve Castellaw was 72 when a lump on the side of his head led to an MRI, surgery, and biopsy. The next day, he learned he had Stage IV lung cancer. The tumor was in his left lung and had spread to his right pelvis, the L1 and L2 vertebrae in his spine, and his skull. The diagnosis was a shock after decades of routine physical exams without major problems.
Steve began chemotherapy, which controlled the cancer for a time before it stopped working. After Thanksgiving 2018, his oncologist switched him to an immune checkpoint inhibitor. That treatment also worked initially but eventually lost effectiveness. Testing then qualified Steve for a clinical trial of the targeted drug sotorasib.
He remained on sotorasib for about 2 years and saw a large reduction in tumor size. His main side effects were mild ankle swelling and a skin rash. He returned for follow-up every 3 weeks, with brain MRI and body CT scans every 12 weeks. At his latest follow-up, the treatment was still effective. Steve was again playing golf, exercising, spending time with family, and living a normal day-to-day life.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by AACR. 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.