From Diagnosis to Determination: Targeted Therapy for ALK-Positive Lung Cancer
When I turned 50 in August 2014, I was excited to celebrate the milestone and I looked forward to what the next decade would bring. Unfortunately, things changed quickly later that month after a visit to the emergency department.
I had been experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath and was treated for pneumonia and told to follow up with my primary care doctor, which I did in September. From there I was referred to a pulmonologist for further testing and in November I received a diagnosis: anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
At the time, the fact that my cancer was ALK-positive meant little, I only heard “lung cancer.” That December, I met with Anne Chiang, MD, PhD, a thoracic medical oncologist at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Dr. Chiang explained that ALK is a gene that produces a protein that controls cell growth and, when mutated, can cause cancer cells to grow faster.
Dr. Chiang also told me there is a lot of research being done into ALK-positive cancers and that the hope is for cancers like mine to become a chronic disease and treated as such. Looking back to when I was first diagnosed, the life expectancy was three to six years. It is amazing how quickly things have advanced in that time.
In 2014, I started crizotinib, which is the first medication specifically for patients that have ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. However, once the cancer reached my brain, it was recommended that I receive radiation therapy. Veronica Chiang, MD, a Yale Medicine neurosurgeon, targeted my tumors within the brain, while leaving my healthy tissue relatively untouched.
My cancer is now deemed “stable” with no signs of significant growth. There have still been bumps along the way. I had a craniotomy in 2019 to assess whether spots were new growth, or from radiation. I have found that a positive attitude goes a long way. I am involved in several advocacy groups, including LUNG FORCE, LUNGevity, and others specifically for patients with ALK-positive cancers, such as ALK Positive. I take every opportunity to advocate for more research into lung cancer and ALK-positive cancers in general.
I look back at how far recent advances have taken us, and know we need to keep going. There are trials on the horizon that want to look at curing this cancer, and not just follow it as a chronic disease. I want to be a part of that. I have goals and a future in mind, I am not going to stop now. I realize that someone 10 years ago volunteered for a trial, and it saved my life; I want to be that person for someone else.
