Lung Cancer Patient Stories

I am 40 years old and currently live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Although I work as a case manager for an insurance company now, I was previously employed as a full-time nurse. I have always been a busy person with plenty on my plate, so when I started feeling tired and losing weight, I thought it was caused by the stress of my daily routine.

It wasn’t until July 2017 that I couldn’t ignore my symptoms any longer. When I developed a migraine and felt a tremor in my arm and eye, I knew I was about to lose consciousness. I immediately called 911.

Sometimes I think that my timing was just incredible. If I had been diagnosed with cancer a few years earlier, my prognosis would have looked much different than it does today—especially if I had not gone to Fox Chase!

Before cancer, I was a retired Philadelphia police officer who enjoyed many wonderful adventures with my husband, Braco. We enjoyed running businesses together, traveling together, and raising our daughters together. But, when Braco was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016 at the age of 57, everything changed. And, a few years later in 2019, I was faced with my own lung cancer diagnosis.

I was only 40 when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. I went to my primary care doctor, who sent me for a CT scan. When he got the results, he told me to find an oncologist because it was cancer. A few years earlier I had a breast lump removed at Fox Chase, so that is where I knew I should go. 

Joan Lautenbacher was 55 and enjoying a rewarding career in educational administration for the State of New Jersey when she was shocked to learn she had lung cancer, a diagnosis she received from her primary care doctor after she had trouble swallowing. She took the advice of a good friend and sought treatment at Fox Chase Cancer Center. There, Joan underwent chemotherapy and radiation before having surgery to remove the tumor. A month later, she learned that the treatment had been a success. "Though some members of my original lung team have left Fox Chase since I became a patient, I feel as confident as ever in the care they provide me," she said. "Once I found my way to where I had the best opportunities, I wanted to stay there and follow it through. For me, that place was Fox Chase."