As some of you already know, I have a rare form of lung cancer called ALK positive. Only about 4% of lung cancer patients have this specific type. Lung cancer comes with a history of an awful stigma that only smokers get lung cancer and this is just not true. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer. Nearly 65% of newly diagnosed patients are non-smokers or former light smokers. The current testing to catch this disease early is usually only suggested to those over 55 with a heavy smoking history. In many cases, included mine, it's already in an advanced stage when it is detected. I had no symptoms of lung cancer- I had a headache that turned out to be a brain tumor, biopsies concluded that it was a metastatic lung tumor. Stage IV. I am thankful for research that has been developed for my type of Lung Cancer-but even with this research the median life span is 6.8 years. Please consider donating to this cause. Research could make this terminal illness be a treatable chronic illness.
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