My Journey with ALK+ Lung Cancer

In September 2025, my world changed forever when I was diagnosed with Stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer — a rare gene mutation that can strike healthy, young, non-smoking individuals like me.

For months, doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. They believed it was a rare infection or long COVID and treated me as an asthmatic, but my breathing kept getting worse. Eventually, it became so difficult that I could barely walk up a flight of stairs or take a full breath. When I went back to the ER for the 3rd time, doctors discovered multiple blood clots in my chest, there I met an angel of a hematologist-oncologist (Dr. G) who refused to give up.

During my nearly three-week hospital stay — which included numerous biopsies and even heart surgery —  Dr. G and my incredible care team exhausted every possible avenue until, finally, the diagnosis came: ALK-positive Stage IV lung cancer.

ALK-positive lung cancer is a rare and aggressive subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), caused by a rearrangement in the ALK gene. It accounts for only 3–5% of all NSCLC cases but disproportionately affects younger, otherwise healthy individuals — many of them women under 50 who have never smoked.

Today, I’m on Lorbrena, a targeted therapy that gives me hope for more time and more life. It’s because of research and science that I can take a daily pill with minimal side effects and still be present for my family. 

Breakthroughs in targeted therapy have given patients like me time — but we need more research to turn that time into a lifetime. Through this campaign, I’m sharing my story to raise awareness, fund critical research, and give others like me a chance at more tomorrows.

More research means more time — for me, and for every family affected by ALK-positive lung cancer.

Here’s how you can help:

• Donate: Every gift, big or small, fuels research and patient support.

• Share: Help spread the word by sharing my page with friends and family. The more people who know, the more impact we can make.

Together, we can give families the most precious gift of all—time. Thank you for standing with me! ?