A Nagging Cough Led to a Stage 4 Lung Cancer Diagnosis — Now, Thanks to Targeted Therapy, This 69 Year Old Mom Who Already Beat Cancer Once, Has ‘No Visible Cancer’

“In 2024, in August, I had a slight cough, and I went to the doctor. She told me that it was probably just allergies,” Szurek told SurvivorNet.

What followed was a cascade of worsening symptoms—shortness of breath, exhaustion, and repeated pneumonia treatments that offered no relief. At the urging of her daughter’s friend, an ER physician, she went to the emergency room. There, she learned the source of her troubles.

“A doctor came and sat down with me and showed me the X-ray and the CT, and he showed me that I had cancer throughout my body and in my brain,” Szurek said.

Jeanne had stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer. She had never smoked.

Lung cancer forms when cancer cells develop in the tissues of the lung. It is the second most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the U.S., SurvivorNet experts say. It’s “completely asymptomatic,” says thoracic surgeon-in-chief at Temple University Health System Dr. Joseph Friedberg.

WATCH: Detecting lung cancer in the absence of symptoms.

“It causes no issues until it has spread somewhere. So, if it spreads to the bones, it may cause pain. If it spreads to the brain, it may cause something not subtle, like a seizure,” Dr. Friedberg adds.

Scans such as X-rays can help doctors determine if a shadow appears, which can prompt further testing for lung cancer.

There are two main types of lung cancer, which doctors group together based on how they act and how they’re treated:

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type and makes up about 85% of cases.
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is less common, but it tends to grow faster than NSCLC and is treated very differently.

WATCH: Treating Stage 4 Lung Cancer

Some people with lung cancer may experience symptoms such as:

• A cough that doesn’t go away, that gets worse, or that brings up bloody phlegm
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Chest pain
• Hoarse voice
• Appetite loss
• Weight loss

Metastatic (stage 4) lung cancer refers to cancer that has spread to distant sites in the body. Additional DNA mutation testing, or broad molecular testing, can be done based on the stage of the disease and is often reserved for metastatic lung cancer.

A New Era of Possibility

Szurek had already survived uterine cancer five years earlier, enduring surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Uterine cancer develops when malignant cells form in the lining of the uterus. It is also called  endometrial cancer, since “the majority of uterine cancer cases involve the endometrium, and endometrial cancer cases account for over 90% of all uterine cancer cases,” according to research published in the peer-reviewed medical journal “Cancers.”

Szurek knew the toll those treatments took on her body—and she was determined to avoid chemotherapy if there was another option.

WATCH: Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects

“There was hope because there were so many treatments that are available for lung cancer,” Szurek said.

Her care team immediately ordered biomarker testing, a crucial step that can identify genetic mutations driving the cancer and point to targeted therapies.

“The purpose of precision medicine is to identify a specific target, a specific biomarker, that allows us to select specific treatment,” said Dr. Ronald Natale, director of the Lung Cancer Clinical Research Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.

Biomarker Testing

• Comprehensive biomarker testing checks the lung tumor for gene mutations that might respond to targeted therapy.
• Genetic testing of the lung tumor is typically for people with stage 4, non-small cell lung cancer. However, biomarker testing is becoming increasingly common for patients with lung cancer at any stage.
• If your doctor does not mention it, ask for it! Be your own advocate.

“Fortunately for me, I did have what’s called an EGFR mutation,” Jeanne said.

WATCH: Biomarker Testing — A Path to Better Outcomes for Cancer Patients

The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene mutation is present in about 10-15 percent of lung cancers in the United States and generally appears in the adenocarcinoma subtype of non-small cell lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association.

“In general, lung cancers are driven by certain genetic mutations, and if we discover that gene, we may be able to treat the cancer with some targeted therapy that attacks that gene without affecting the rest of the body cells,” Dr. Mohamed Mohamed, a thoracic medical oncologist at Cone Health Cancer Center in Greensboro, told SurvivorNet.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) suggests testing for nine specific biomarkers (or mutations) before starting treatment for advanced lung cancer — one of those is EGFR.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene produces the EGFR protein, which plays a role in the growth and division of normal cells. Mutant EGFR genes can produce unchecked cell growth and lead to the formation of several types of cancers, including lung cancers, especially non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC).

EGFR testing is now done as a routine part of lung cancer workups.

“Until 2004, we did not have anything on lung cancer genes. In 2004, two papers came out at the same time: one from Dana-Farber, the other from Memorial Sloan Kettering. That was the first discovery of a mutation in lung cancer, called the EGFR mutation,” Dr. Mohamed explained.

The current standard of care for metastatic EGFR-mutated lung cancer is typically taking TAGRISSO (generic name: osimertinib) alone. “Patients with a positive EGFR mutation always had an option for TAGRISSO as a monotherapy Arun Krishna, the US Commercial Lead for Lung Cancer at AstraZeneca, explains to SurvivorNet.

In 2024, a clinical trial demonstrated an improved progression-free survival of nine months in patients with locally advanced and metastatic EGFR-mutated lung cancer when using TAGRISSO in combination with chemotherapy versus using TAGRISSO alone.

“Research had come so far that there were several drugs that could treat me, and if one didn’t work, another one could,” Szurek explained.

The Treatment That Changed Everything

Her doctor recommended Rybrevant, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) and has a specific genetic mutation your doctor can identify through testing.

“When a patient comes in, we immediately sequence the tumor. We are doing panels that might include three, four, or 500 genes, the ones that are most likely. Some sort of next-generation approach is the best standard of care these days – it has to be done,” Dr. Roy S. Herbst, the chief of medical oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, explains.

The active ingredient in Rybrevant is amivantamab-vmjw. It belongs to a class of drugs known as biologics, which are made from living cells.

The drug works like a guided missile, finding and sticking to the bad cancer cells. It targets and attaches to two specific proteins in cancer cells, disrupting their growth signals and activating the immune system to fight the cancer.

WATCH: Anyone Who Has Lungs Can Get Lung Cancer: Millie Torchia Shares Her Cancer Story

Once it finds its target, it blocks the signals the cells need to grow and spread. This stops the cancer from worsening and helps patients feel better for longer.

Rybrevant is different from older cancer treatments because it is a targeted drug therapy. It doesn’t just attack all rapidly dividing cells as traditional chemotherapy does. Instead, it goes after the cancer cells with the mutation it was designed to treat while avoiding the healthy surrounding cells. This means it can be more effective and might have fewer side effects than other treatments.

Common side effects for Rybrevant include:

• Rash
• Nail damage
• Mouth sores
• An immediate Infusion-related reaction
• Fatigue
• Swelling
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Decreased appetite
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Sun sensitivity

“They may go away in a few days or persist for a long time. We work with patients to manage them,” Dr. Herbst says.

Within months, Szurek says the results were astonishing.

“After only a few months, there was almost no cancer visible in my lungs or in my body or brain. It was miraculous. We cried,” Szurek said.

Today, Jeanne is back to volunteering, traveling, and savoring the retirement she feared she’d lose. As she continues treatment, she’s looking forward to switching from IV infusions to a faster injection form (Rybrevant FASPRO) of her medication—another advancement made possible by ongoing research.

“It means I can go in in the morning, get my checkup, get my injection, be on my way, and go back out and deliver some more meals,” she said. “It’s been a really life-saving, life-changing treatment for me,” Szurek explained.

An ongoing long-term clinical trial, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the chemotherapy-free combination regimen of Rybrevant plus Lazcluze demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in previously untreated EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC. Median OS for the combination is projected to exceed four years, compared to the median of three years observed with TAGRISSO alone. These findings were included in the ASCO guidelines that were recently published.

The Power of Awareness

Jeanne’s story is one of hope—but it’s also a reminder of how far investments in lung cancer research have come. Former 12-year NFL linebacker turned lung cancer advocate Chris Draft, 49, knows this firsthand.

“We want more survivors like Jeanne— and not just surviving, but living well,” a mission shaped by losing his wife to advanced lung cancer more than a decade ago.

His wife, Keasha, was 37, athletic, and full of life when she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2010. She had no smoking history, a well-known risk factor for lung cancer. She had a great relationship with her doctor and always listened to her body. Still, the diagnosis came as a shock.

“Historically, all we talked about was the connection with smoking,” Draft told SurvivorNet.

“So, to hear somebody say that anyone can get lung cancer, it seems off. What I hope is that with awareness, it doesn’t have to happen in their house for them to know it,” Draft said.

Keasha underwent biomarker testing—something Draft emphasizes was already critical even in 2011—but she didn’t have a mutation that matched available targeted therapies at the time. She passed away a year later. Before she died, the couple married and launched “Team Draft,” designed to support families facing lung cancer. Draft has been advocating ever since.

“We know there are people who are lost in the spaces where they’re not getting screened despite being eligible. They’re not getting targeted therapy because they’re not getting tested. They’re not getting offered clinical trials. They’re not getting the support that they need as survivors. That’s unacceptable,” Draft said.

Lung Cancer In Non-Smokers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, about 10% to 20% of lung cancers happen in people who never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.

Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, says targeted treatments are being developed that will be able to address the genetic drivers of lung cancer in nonsmokers.

“Among patients who are nonsmokers, or former very light smokers, we identify a mutation that we can target with pills in about 60% to 70% of them. That leaves 30% or so, 40%, in whom we either have a target for which we do not have a successful treatment,” Dr. Natale tells SurvivorNet.

WATCH: There Is A Stigma: Survivor Amanda Kouri On Why She Became A Lung Cancer Advocate

“Among patients who are smokers, who have more complex cancers that have hundreds, sometimes thousands of mutations, don’t have a driver mutation that we can give a pill for, which is only a tiny percentage of lifelong smokers. Chemotherapy is the primary treatment in most patients,” Dr. Natale explains further.

Scientists have spent years trying to understand how people who’ve never smoked develop the disease. Although second-hand smoke is one known contributor, many questions still remain — and researchers are working to uncover what other hidden risks might be involved.

Now, we’re a step closer to getting answers thanks to a team of scientists led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of California, San Diego, who studied lung cancer in people who had never smoked.

The research published in Nature looked closely at the genetic makeup of lung tumors from 871 never-smokers to better understand how the disease develops.

WATCH: Smoking and Cancer Risk

They found that people exposed to high levels of air pollution — especially the fine particles emitted by cars and factories — were much more likely to have damage to a specific gene called TP53, which normally helps prevent cancer.

The study also showed that exposure to pollution was associated with shortened telomeres —the protective ends of chromosomes in our DNA that wear down with age and stress. Shortened telomeres are linked to higher risks of cancer and other serious health problems.

Researchers also highlighted some of the genetic changes caused by pollution that looked similar to the damage typically seen in people who smoke, even though these patients had never smoked a cigarette. Despite the promising findings in the study, more research is still needed to substantiate further the suggested link between air pollution and people diagnosed with lung cancer who have never smoked cigarettes.

Research Is Saving Lives—But Only If People Can Access It

The landscape of lung cancer treatment has transformed dramatically in the last decade. Draft has watched it happen in real time.

“The number of treatment options has tripled since the time that my wife was diagnosed,” he said. “In the last seven years, just amazing the number of treatment options that directly affect the people impacted by the disease. So, we have to celebrate those victories,” Draft said.

Szurek is one of those victories. Her life today—full of movement, purpose, and joy—is a direct result of research breakthroughs, biomarker testing, and the availability of targeted therapies.

“When I was diagnosed, my doctor said if the first treatment doesn’t work, there are many more we can try,” she said. “It meant I was going to be able to live for many years. I had hope,” Szurek said.

Why Support Matters

Both Szurek and Draft point to the same truth: research and awareness save lives, but only when people know what’s possible and have access to it.

Awareness campaigns help people understand that:

• Anyone can get lung cancer.
• Biomarker testing is essential for determining the right treatment.
• Targeted therapies and new treatment options are expanding rapidly.
• Survivorship is changing, with more people living well for longer.

Research funding fuels the next generation of treatments—treatments that may give someone else the same second chance Szurek received.

Jeanne agrees. “Time is precious,” she said. “Research gave me more of it.”

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