Lindi Campbell Lung Cancer My Primary Care Physician saw a small shadow on a routine chest x-ray and sent me on to have a CT scan. A 1.2 cm nodule was visible in my right lung, but doctors were not initially concerned because I had never smoked. After consistent monitoring for over 2 years, the nodule continued to grow and surgery to remove it was eventually performed. When I woke up from surgery I was told the growth was cancer and the surgeon removed 2 lobes of my right lung in hopes the cancer would not return. This past May, I had a new growth removed from my left lung and it too was cancer. Biomarker testing was performed on the tissue and revealed a genetic mutation that is contributing to my recurrence.
“Don’t assume that if you have never smoked, you won’t get lung cancer. I am proof you can!”
Family and friends have been a huge support system for me on a daily basis, but I turn to my lung cancer community of survivors when I have questions about my cancer or my treatment. They are the ones who truly know and understand this journey best. I am also fortunate to live so close to a National Cancer Institute, Markey Cancer Center, where I received excellent medical care. Please help us erase the stigma of lung cancer. Anyone can get this disease and it deserves the same sympathy and respect as all other cancers.
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TOPS in Lexington | October 2020