Kim's Story

At age 37, Kim was diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer. “I was a young, healthy individual and non-smoker with no family history of lung cancer,” she said. She had been experiencing back pain for several months, seeing various specialists with no answers.

After she had an MRI of her back, she got a phone call from her doctor, who told her there was a mass on the right lower lobe of her lung. After speaking with her General Practitioner, she had an X-ray of her lung. The radiologist’s report confirmed suspicion of adenocarcinoma, though protocol said to treat as pneumonia. “Although I wasn’t sick and did not have any signs of pneumonia, I was given antibiotics and told to come back in a week for another X-ray.” But one week later, her worst fears became a reality: she had lung cancer. After blood panels, MRIs, a PET scan and a needle biopsy, she had the lower right lobe of her lung removed. She was given six weeks to recover and then started a four-month stint of chemotherapy.

“Five years later, I am still cancer free!” she said. “Having lung cancer completely changed my life. I’ve had the fear of reoccurrence several times. I have made lifelong friends who are also lung cancer survivors and lost several special people from my lung cancer community. I have stormed Capitol Hill to fight for a cure. Nobody deserves lung cancer!”