How I Decided to Hold Out for the Best Lung Cancer Treatment
Medically Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario , MD on November 21 , 2023
The Turning Point : Biomarker Testing | What ’ s Radon ? | Targeted Therapy a Success | The Takeaway , So Far
By Leah Phillips , as told to Janie McQueen
I was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2019 . I never even tried a cigarette . I didn ’ t grow up around secondhand smoke . But at first , before I had biomarker testing , doctors told me they hoped I ’ d be alive at Christmas the following year .
In September 2019 , it started with a cough that was persistent and didn ’ t go away . Eventually I was misdiagnosed with pneumonia . Then I went in for another CT scan and it showed lytic lesions -- cancer spots -- in my spine . A bone biopsy showed they ’ d spread from my lung to my spine and pelvis .