As you all know, November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. A bunch of us bloggers have gotten together and are profiling a cancer survivor, caregiver, advocate, or health care professional each day this month. Today it is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to Karen Loss, a lung cancer patient and advocate who was diagnosed in late November of 2012 with stage 4 carcinoma NSCLC. Here is her story in her own words. ********************************************** What is your connection to lung cancer? I will celebrate my 3rd anniversary since my lung cancer diagnosis on Thanksgiving… Read More

Nearly 4 years ago, Kelly Shannon was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-small cell adenocarcinoma with the KRAS mutation (more commonly associated with people who have smoked). Kelly was a 35 year old non-smoker when she was diagnosed in January 2012, and since then has endured numerous types of treatments from traditional chemo to 2 separate clinical trials.  There aren’t many options for someone with the KRAS mutation, as there are with and EGFR or ROS-1 mutations.  She is now a 39 year old single mother raising two children, ages 5 and 7,… Read More

PROFILES IN LUNG CANCER Lung Cancer Awareness Month 2015 Day 10: Brendon Stiles, MD, Health Care Provider “Even a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer is not a death sentence.” Twitter handle: @BrendonStilesMD Who is Brendon Stiles? Tell us a little bit about yourself. Ten years ago, I lost my father to lung cancer. After training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, I am now an Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital. I operate on and care for patients with lung cancer. I have… Read More