Kat

At 38, I was building a life, making plans, and looking toward the future. Cancer wasn't part of the story I imagined.

Then, in a single conversation, everything changed.

I was diagnosed with stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer, a rare form of lung cancer that often affects younger people who have never smoked. Overnight, my life became a whirlwind of scans, appointments, treatments, and impossible decisions. The future I had taken for granted suddenly felt uncertain.

But I also discovered something unexpected: hope. Researchers had spent years developing targeted therapies for cancers like mine. Because of their work, I had options that didn't exist a generation ago. Every breakthrough represented someone who believed patients like me were worth fighting for.

Today, I live with cancer, but I also live with gratitude and determination. I know that research saves lives because it is saving mine.

When you support lung cancer research, you aren't just funding science. You're giving people like me more birthdays, more ordinary moments, and more time with the people we love.

I was 38 when cancer changed my life. Together, we can help change what that diagnosis means for the next person.