I was diagnosed with Stage IV nonsmoker lung cancer in 2019.  My cancer is ALK positive, which means that there is a typo in the ALK gene causing cells to grow too quickly. Thanks to relatively recent breakthroughs in medical research, drug therapies have kept the aggressive disease at bay for 5 1/2 years.  The first drug I took was approved by the FDA in 2015, and the second drug I took was approved in 2018.  Now, I am participating in a clinical trial of a third-generation drug that has yet to be approved.

Nonsmoker lung cancer is on the rise.  Among Asian American women with lung cancer, 57% have never smoked.  No one knows why.  (I was interviewed for a CBS News story about this alarming trend earlier this year - video is below.)  For me, and for the growing number of people diagnosed with this disease each year, medical research is our only hope.

And yet lung cancer research receives less funding than other cancer types, even though it is deadlier than breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, combined.

In this season of gratitude, family, and hope, please consider sending a gift to ALK Positive, a patient-led organization that advocates for and the supports the lives of ALK+ patients worldwide. Every bit helps.

Thank you for your support!