Why Not Me?
I was diagnosed Nov. 2018. I had just turned 51. I’m a middle school librarian and during Labor Day weekend, had a virus that seemed to hit me harder than usual. After that, the cough continued. A few months went by and the cough was still there, but now I could faintly decipher something in my chest, a pressure.
A whirlwind of emotions
I went into a walk-in clinic on my lunch break, they took a chest X-ray and I was told I could have lung cancer. A bronchoscopy confirmed a mass in one lung and multiple nodules in both, thus stage IV.
What a whirlwind of emotions. No family history, non-smoker and I’ve always been active and led a healthy lifestyle. But... I do know things happen beyond our control. As much as I wanted to plan my perfect life and future, this derailed me.
Grateful for my life
But I am grateful that I was able to raise my 2 daughters, now married in their 20s and I have grandkids. My husband and I have had satisfying careers, we’ve traveled and have been financially stable. My daughters and their husbands are Christians.
As much as this wasn’t my plan, it is now my path. I had prayed for a deeper relationship with God and for peace and increased faith, all of which has been given through this diagnosis.
Stable scans
Within a few weeks, I found out my genetic mutation, ALK and have been on a TKI for 18 months. I’m leading a fairly normal lifestyle, scans are stable and I’m trying to appreciate each day.
Were you surprised when diagnosed with lung cancer? How has it impacted your life?
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