How I Learned I had Stage 4 Lung Cancer - Anne | The Patient Story

In this cancer vlog, Anne shares her inspiring yet frustrating journey to a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis. Despite having a lung nodule flagged years earlier, doctors dismissed Anne's worsening back pain as nothing serious since she was a lifelong non-smoker. It took multiple ER visits and self-advocacy before Anne finally received an MRI that revealed widespread metastatic cancer in her spine and she was diagnosed with stage 4 B non-small cell lung cancer.

She shares how she processed her diagnosis, starting a targeted therapy (Tagrisso) and later enrolling in a clinical trial.

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[Video Chapters]
00:00 Introduction
00:40 The beginning stages of my diagnosis
01:22 My first symptoms
03:25 Being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer
04:00 Next generation sequencing
06:35 Starting Tagrisso and radiation
08:52 My treatment side effects
13:02 Starting a clinical trial
16:02 Words of advice

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The interview has only been edited for clarity. The interview has only been edited for clarity.

[SeaTurtle]

I have stage four ovarian cancer. It would be nice if at the end of this video, they would have mentioned that Anne passed away in January 2024. I think when they fail to mention this, it makes the whole thing misleading. Anne wasn’t misleading, she was sincere and she believed with all her heart she was gonna beat this horrible disease. RIP sweet lady.

[terrimarie]

How sad, Anne LaPorte passed away January19 2024
Sending hugs to Anne's family and friends.❤

[shellyk]

My sister went to the hospital for two years getting X-rays and they would tell her she had a lung infection each time she ended up in the hospital with coughing and back pain, then one night she threw up half a bucket of blood, before ambulance got her to the hospital they did a M.R.I. only to find out she had stage 4 cancer gone very bad, she only lived 2 months after finding out.Tomorrow March 25th 2024 will mark 9 years she has been gone.I miss her so very much she was only 62. I lost my mom two months after i lost my sister, she went to bed right after my sister died and never got back out she passed may 24th i miss them both so much! I pray they find a cure for Cancer.💔😥🙏

[nyacoustics]

Most Drs just want to rush you out the door and go to the next patient! There is so much malpractice and negligence out there it's sickening. This ladies life was drastically impacted by all these doctors misdiagnosed. Every single one of them should lose their license and be held accountable for their stupidity.

[parathink]

Thanks for doing this. I had non-cancerous tumours removed several times from my colon years ago. My doctor never said to get a colonoscopy after several years going to him. I was the one who brought it up. Stage 3 colon cancer. Treatment was successful.

[armandochong]

I was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2023. I never smoked and used to run 10 miles a day. The cancer was discovered in three nodules in both my lungs. Like Ann, my doctor put me on Tagrisso, which is a targeted medication. I am thankful I found Ann's video story.

[michelleblackwell]

I am so glad you spoke about quality of life being personal. I am an RN that worked in a LTC. We had a resident that was placed with us due to paranoid schizophrenia. He was pretty stable. He was a smoker. He started having lung problems after COVID. They took his smoking privileges away. He would ask all day to go smoke. He was placed on hospice and still asked to smoke. I advocated for him to be able to smoke. I know it seems strange. I remember the meeting we had with all the management and I said he should be able to smoke and everyone balked. I told them that this gentleman had nothing to enjoy. He didn't watch television, he had no friends, he had a guardian. The only thing he looked forward to was to go out and smoke. I told them no one can tell you what makes your life worth living, I don't get to decide that for them, they don't get to decide that for me, and we shouldn't be deciding that for this patient.

[nancyhuber]

I’m also a nurse (of 52 years) worked 35 years. Cancer has affected my family. You are an amazing person. Continue to stay well and God Bless you and your beautiful daughter 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

[LeeLeeWilliams-]

Fellow non smoker here. Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer!! I was diagnosed with stage 1B in 2021. Thank you for spreading awareness 🙏🏾

[sianprice]

I’m so sorry to hear your diagnosis.
The medical costs in America leaves me gobsmacked.
I was in hospital (Sydney, Australia) for 7 weeks just over a year ago. I had 12 CT scans, daily blood test, x-rays, taken by ambulance and so much more. I also had the community nurses visit me daily, once I was sent home. I also had a cleaner once a week. EVERYTHING WAS FREE. We are so blessed. 💛🙏💛

[Ceerads]

She died in January of this year. It’s so sad. I don’t know why the video isn’t amended at the end so that viewers will know the patient died.

[berthagreen]

I’m from Canada and I’ve was just diagnosed with stage one lung cancer. My specialist has been following me for 2 years. What started as a small nodule that wasn’t showing much change after Cat scans showed as active when he ordered a PETscan.
This was followed by a biopsy that confirmed it. Within days of my biopsy I saw my doctor again. It was lung cancer. A little over 2 weeks later, I’m scheduled for surgery where the upper lobe of my right lung will be removed. I’m scared but optimistic.
I thank my family doctor and the specialist for their great care.

[purpleviolet]

So sorry to hear that Anne passed away in January.😥My thoughts and prayers go out to her entire family.🙏

[bugsybird]

I had a friend who had a spot on her lung for three years. Her doctor chose to follow it to see if the spot changed in size. She was a non-smoker. No one in her family smoked. She did have a family history of various cancers. She got sick with a persistent cough that wouldn't go away. Another x-ray showed fluid in her lung, which led to a stage 4 cancer dianosis. Inoperable. She died within a year. The fact that the doctor knew the "spot" was there for all those years and didn't do further testing was mind-blowing. It was maddening and devastating to know she could have had a better outcome if treated sooner.

[myghtymouse]

Same thing happened to my mom. She went to the Mayo Clinic (12/95) complaining of severe back pain. They told her it was "all in her head", told her to take OTC pain relievers, and sent her home. Then on 08/27/98, she was diagnosed with large cell carcinoma from head to toe. Without radiation & chemo, they gave her 4 months at best to live. So she put herself through months of radiation (to her brain) and chemotherapy and died on 08/12/99 at the age of 65. It bought her just shy of a year...of misery. She knew something was seriously wrong, but the doctors did not listen to her, and she clearly did not advocate hard enough for herself. It's sad because she had a LOT of plans & a LOT MORE living to do!
Thank you for making this video, for sharing your story, and for encouraging people to speak up, to be persistent, and to be heard! It could mean the difference between living or dying!!! God bless you and you are in my prayers!!!🙏🏼🙏🏼

[KiwiHobbitful]

My brother died of stomach cancer in 2002. He was aged 38. Because he was relatively young he was constantly dismissed by various doctors. Finally, and out of sheer desperation and exhaustion he phone called cold a surgeon he had been recommended. He saw the surgeon the next day, and upon having something as routine as an endoscopy, a tumor was discovered, the size of a grapefruit. Stage 4. He was given' a small number of months'. He died almost three months to the day of the prognosis. My parents died grief stricken. Grief over their loss and what could have been but for the negligence.

[patriciamartin]

RIP Anne. Thanks for sharing your story. I wish doctors would pay more attention to their patients. After all it’s our bodies and we know when something isn’t right.

[leanderrowe]

Thanks for letting us know your experience and that one can have lung cancer with no coughing. My Mom died of lung cancer and I have two close family members also had lung cancer. I wish you and your daughter well in your recovery journey. 💖

[mentak]

As an NP, I never ever tell anyone there is “no possible way”. Patients know their own body a lot better than I do and I listen to their concerns. I wish insurance companies didn’t try to block us at every turn.

[deedeesmith]

Why are they still going on about only smoker can get lung cancer!!😡everyone who has had lung cancer in my life was healthy athletic and non smoker! I’m a retired nurse and physicians can be so closed minded and we need to change this.