An Unexpected Threat : the Link Between Radon and Lung Cancer
Leah shares how radon may have led to a stage four cancer diagnosis by Editorial Staff | January 24 , 2023
In early 2019 , Leah visited her doctor because she had a nagging cough that she couldn ’ t shake . Her doctor diagnosed her with a post viral cough and exercise‐induced asthma . When steroids and other medications did not cure the problem , and with Leah beginning to display other symptoms including pain on her right side , she insisted they do a chest X‐Ray . Sure enough , the X‐Ray showed she had right lung consolidation , suggesting pneumonia . Unfortunately , after about a week on the pneumonia medication , she began coughing up blood . It would take another three weeks of pain and coughing before an emergency room doctor finally was able to diagnose the problem : metastatic cancer .
Leah had led a very healthy life ; she was a runner who ate very healthily and never smoked . So , her recent lung problems and subsequent diagnosis were hard to process . “ I was shocked . Previous doctors had assured me it wasn ’ t cancer so I didn ’ t understand how this could be ,” Leah said . Draining the lung of fluid and testing it was the best way for the doctors to be sure of the diagnosis , and so that is what they did . When the fluid came back malignant a bone biopsy was required to determine where the cancer had originated . The test showed that it was adenocarcinoma of the lung , indicating non‐small cell stage IV lung cancer . Further testing , a biopsy of the primary tumor , determined that Leah had the EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation .
The doctor put Leah on a targeted therapy specific to her biomarker . This medication made a great deal of difference and within three months , Leah ’ s cough had subsided . After nine months on the medication , her scans showed that the tumor in her right lung had shrunk by 70 %. More tests revealed that the cancer that had metastasized to her spine and pelvis was also being healed . At only 43 years old with three young children , Leah knew that this was a good sign , and it was time to get aggressive . The doctor suggested SBRT treatment , which is a very hostile form of radiation . The treatment has allowed Leah to move into a stable state , with no new metastases or tumors since then her initial diagnosis in December 2019 .
Making Sense of an Unthinkable Diagnosis
“ When they said lung cancer you could have knocked us over with a feather ,” Leah recalls “ It didn ’ t even seem in the realm of possibilities because I have led a healthy life and my family had no history of lung cancer .” As a teacher , she had never considered that she may be at risk from toxic chemicals either .