What You’ll Learn

A lung cancer survivor describes her journey from early symptoms and diagnosis through chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiation until she is declared cancer-free–and the mental attitude that kept her going.¬†

Interviewee: I live in Georgetown, Colorado. I’m a survivor of cancer and I had the non-small cell lung cancer, and it was primarily a squamous cell carcinoma. That was the subtype of lung cancer.¬†

VIVO: What kind of symptoms were you having?

Interviewee: I was having persistent cough, chest pain. I was also having shortness of breath and losing weight without knowing what the cause was. But it was the persistent coughing and chest pain that led to the diagnosis.

VIVO: You’re 36 now, is that correct? How old were you when you were diagnosed?

Interviewee: I was 34. I wasn’t expecting it. It was new to me. It was so devastating and previously I used to smoke, but I didn’t see it as a cause to that because people smoke and they’re still fine, they’re still okay. So I wouldn’t believe that such would be what will lead to a lung cancer. And before the diagnosis, I had already started cutting myself off the smoking because I started noticing the coughing and I knew it wasn’t what I needed for my health. So it was a self decision to go off it. It was months later when the symptoms were persistent and I knew it was time for me to seek medical help.

VIVO: Did you go to your primary care physician and then they referred you out or how did the process get started medically?

Interviewee: I contacted a family doctor, a relative who is a doctor, and I spoke about my symptoms and what I was having. To me, I felt it probably was something different like tuberculosis, which makes you cough so hard. I had a different perception about the whole symptoms. So the family doctor referred me to the hospital here within my neighborhood and that was where I went in for the test. I had X-rays, CT scans, and after that I was still very skeptical about it because I wanted to be very sure. So I went to a different hospital and then I did a biopsy.

VIVO: What kind of biopsy did you do? What happened with that?

Interviewee: The biopsy, they had to take out samples to test and know what it was about.

VIVO: Did they find anything specific in the biopsy? Did you do targeted therapy as well? How did they do it?

Interviewee: So after the biopsy I did chemotherapy. Chemotherapy kills the cell, but then the targeted therapy gets to the DNA. So it’s targeted. So I started with the chemotherapy at first and after that I progressed to targeted therapy. And that was after my clinical trial. I progressed to the targeted therapy and I was combining it with radiation as well.

VIVO: Do you know what the name of the targeted therapy was?

Interviewee: I think it was for something ALK. But it had a full name, but what I remember is ALK, it’s like a form of targeted therapy.

VIVO: What was the most difficult part of that entire process for you? 

Interviewee: The most difficult part about the targeted therapy was the side effects that I was having.

VIVO: What were they? 

Interviewee: It was a reaction, kind of rashes.

VIVO: How long were you in treatment from beginning to end?

Interviewee: It was for three, getting to three years, but I survived seven months. I’ll give it seven months since I’ve been off the whole therapy radiation thing.

VIVO: How are you doing right now?

Interviewee: Yeah, it’s gone. I feel a bit better than how I used to though I still have my fear, is it going to come back. And I was praying so hard to avoid going in for surgery because most times you would have no choice then going in for surgery. So I was able to not be referred for surgery. So I feel better now.

VIVO: That’s wonderful. How progressed was it when you were diagnosed? Do you know the stage or do you know if it had spread anywhere or was it very early when they caught it?

Interviewee: It was early, but I think it was the second stage. It wasn’t really, it was still growing, like spreading and I had to inhibit the spread of the disease.

VIVO: I’m sorry, you said how long have you been out of treatment? You said seven months?

Interviewee: Yeah, seven months.

VIVO: What kind of follow-up? Are you getting any follow-up care right now or did they tell you within a certain amount of months to do it or how does that work?

Interviewee: I go to see the oncologist once in a while, probably like three months, with a friend. And I try to use online resources to care, to stay open to information about my health, things to do, things to prevent, and I’m also seeing a therapist that I got online.

VIVO: Do you find that that’s something maybe you didn’t expect? Was the emotional part of it as far as treatments and all that go, how are you affected that way?

Interviewee: I felt emotional about it throughout the period and it affected work, school, a lot of things. My kid and I was really down that period. And also the financial pressure that it comes with as well. So it was quite an emotional period.

VIVO: Did you have insurance when you were in treatment?

Interviewee: Yeah, I had insurance, but the insurance wasn’t going to cover all the bills, so it was part of it and I would have to not work the way I used to do, so it wasn’t a very easy moment.

VIVO: Did you have family support?

Interviewee: Yeah, I had because my parents moved in and they were around me for that period.

VIVO: Is there any history of this in your family?

Interviewee: For lung it’s new, but we’ve had a history of a different kind of cancer.

VIVO: What are your hobbies and where do you find inspiration and where do you get happy?

Interviewee: My hobby is reading. I love reading a lot. So I read online. I read there are apps, like story apps that I read. And I like graphic designing, so I try to, during my free time I try to do some graphic designing.

VIVO: How old is your child?

Interviewee: Next month, he’ll be 11.

VIVO: So was it difficult on him as well when you were going through treatment?

Interviewee: Yeah, it was because I had to put him away from the house because of the emotional trauma it comes with and having your child see you when you’re down and I didn’t want him to have such experience. So he was at a family member’s place until I felt better, but he comes around, but I didn’t want to put that burden on him. But when I started feeling better with the radiation therapy, I had to bring him back to be with me.

VIVO: So you did the chemo first, you said, and then it progressed and then you did the targeted therapy along with radiation? Do you have any, aside from the emotional side of it right now, do you still have a cough? Do you still have any effects physically on your body?

Interviewee: I’m trying to recover when it comes to weight, so I try to stay healthy, exercise. But with the cough, I think that’s gone. Once in a while I feel kind of a fever, but I know probably it’s my body getting to recover from all the treatment.

VIVO: You’re so young, what would you want to do in five or 10 years? Do you have any big dreams for life?

Interviewee: My dream is to, because I love fashion, have a fashion brand, a very big fashion brand. Clothing, women accessories, makeup. But it’s makeup, like have my own beauty, fashion, makeup, lip care, foundation, fancy things like that.

VIVO: What advice would you give someone who has not been seen by a doctor yet who is maybe having that cough at the beginning of it? 

Interviewee: I would say that every change in the body shouldn’t be taken for granted. I feel like you should do your research well and don’t depend on information that you get from friends. Sometimes it might be misleading, so you have to have a primary care doctor that you can refer whatever you are feeling that’s different about your body so that if it’s something like cancer, it should be caught so early and you can be able to overcome it. Because when it gets to a very bad stage, like the stage four, I know that’s a very, very serious stage. So to avoid situations like that, you have to be very conscious about your health.

VIVO: What about someone who’s going through treatment right in the middle of treatment, in the worst part, what would you say to them?

Interviewee: I think the person should have every strength the person can get and patient should be strong-willed, and hopeful, positive because it will have to have a lot of positivity because there are days where it is not medication you need, it’s also your mindset where you have to be strong. Sometimes you might get tired of therapy, having to take different medications every day and you’re so tired and you have to keep pushing through.

VIVO: What helped you push through? What was your inspiration in those moments?

Interviewee: I would say family, my goals and also the treatment I was getting and the information I was getting online. I was using WebMD to get medical information and I was using Talkspace, it’s a platform where you can get to speak with therapists. So I used that.

Participant Profile

• Female, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Survivor (Squamous Cell Carcinoma)
• Georgetown, Colorado resident
• 36 years old, diagnosed at age 34
• Treatment experience: Chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy
• Treatment duration: Nearly 3 years, cancer-free for 7 months
• Former smoker
• Mother to an 11-year-old son
• Currently recovering and focused on maintaining health
• Interests: Reading, graphic design, fashion
• Career aspirations: Developing her own fashion and beauty brand