Healthy, 39, & A Nonsmoker: Woman’s Lung Cancer Was Found by Chance During A CT Scan For A Kidney Stone

Speaking to the American Lung Association (ALA), Brittany recalled that in March 2025, CT scan technicians discovered a nodule on her upper left lung, which led her to follow up with her doctor, who ordered a more detailed CT scan and referred her to a pulmonologist for further evaluation.

Brittany told the ALA, “I was low risk. I had no family history of lung disease, was a non-smoker and was only 39, so the pulmonologist thought it was very unlikely I had cancer.”

She ultimately chose to get a biopsy out of precaution, which revealed adenocarcinoma, the most common type of non-small cell lung cancer, which grows in cells that secrete mucus. It’s found on the outside of lungs, and is more likely to be found before it spreads.

Understanding The Types Of Lung Cancer

It’s important to note that while small-cell lung cancer is tightly linked to smoking, anyone can get non-small cell lung cancer. About one in five men and half of the women who get it are non-smokers.

RELATED: More Treatment Options for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Help Turn Patients into Survivors

“Adenocarcinoma is the most common lung cancer in both smokers and never smokers,” Raja Flores, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, previously told SurvivorNet. “But, we see more adenocarcinoma in never smokers compared to more squamous cell in those who smoke.”

RELATED: You Never Smoked But Still Got Lung Cancer! Treatment Options May Be Different For You

Brittany continued, “It came 100% out of nowhere. If I had not had a CT scan for the kidney stone, it would not have been caught because I had no symptoms at all.

“It was a huge surprise, for me and my doctors.”

After, meeting with a thoracic surgeon [a doctor who specializes in performing surgery on organs and structures within the chest, including the lungs, esophagus, and airways], she learned her prognosis was favorable as the cancer was found early on.

Brittany underwent a minimally invasive lingulectomy, a procedure that removed the cancerous section of her left lung.

RELATED: You Never Smoked But Still Got Lung Cancer! Treatment Options May Be Different for You

Following the procedure, Brittany started respiratory therapy to support her recovery and improve lung function before returning home three days later.

With clear lymph nodes and clean margins, she did not need additional treatment and has remained cancer-free on follow-up scans, allowing her to move from three-month to six-month monitoring.

Brittany noted that just 31 days passed between receiving her diagnosis and undergoing surgery, a timeline she credits to her persistence and the advocacy of her healthcare team.

Hoping her story inspires others to be aware about lung cancer, Brittany said, “It is alarming at the increasing numbers of young, nonsmoking women in particular who are getting diagnosed with this, and often at later stages or through incidental findings.”

Looking back on her experience, and the friends and loved ones that stood by her side through her cancer journey, Brittany emphasized the importance of having a strong support system.

She said, “I’ve learned that no one survives alone. Behind survivorship is the community that got us there; the healthcare workers, the researchers, the support groups, family members.

“It can feel isolating sometimes, and so you just have to remind yourself that you aren’t alone. People have survived and you just have to hang on to hope.”

WATCH: Detecting lung cancer in the absence of symptoms.

Smoking and Cancer Risk

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Nonsmokers still get lung cancer, but cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for the disease. Tobacco smoke contains a mixture of more than 7,000 different chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.

The CDC says cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don’t smoke. Additionally, secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer.

Smoking is, of course, the primary cause of lung cancer, but nonsmokers can and do develop this disease. Researchers have made progress in understanding the differences between lung cancer in smokers versus nonsmokers, says Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and they’re developing targeted treatments 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. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet.

“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.

WATCH: Does smoking marijuana pose health risks?

New research published in Cancer Journal for Clinicians suggests that although the number of cancer cases is expected to rise, by eliminating tobacco use, millions could significantly reduce their cancer risks.

According to researchers, the number of annual cancer diagnoses will jump from roughly 20 million today to 35 million by 2050. The figure puts added pressure on cancer awareness advocates and healthcare practitioners because some of these cancer cases are preventable, according to experts.

“[Eliminating] tobacco use alone could prevent 1 in 4 cancer deaths or approximately 2.6 million cancer deaths annually,” said Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice president of surveillance & health equity science at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study.

Tobacco, more specifically smoking cigarettes, is a significant risk factor for lung cancer, which is “the most commonly diagnosed cancer and leading cause of cancer death overall and in men worldwide,” the American Cancer Society says.

Understanding Lung Cancer and Why It’s Hard to Catch Early

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.

“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.

WATCH: Detecting lung cancer in the absence of symptoms.

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

Lung cancer often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has already spread outside the lungs, according to SurvivorNet’s experts.

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.

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

If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms consistently, contact your doctor for further tests.

Advancements In Lung Cancer Treatment

Lung cancer treatment is still evolving, offering the promise of hope for people living with this type of cancer. Research presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) showed that (generic name: durvalumab) (brand name: Imfinzi), a type of immunotherapy drug, could reduce the risk of death for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) by 27 percent.

The study demonstrated that the use of Imfinzi improved overall survival and progression-free survival (the time a patient lives without their disease getting worse) in patients.

“SCLC is one of the most aggressive types of lung cancer. The ADRIATIC trial is a landmark study and provides a new standard of care with the addition of immunotherapy for patients with early-stage SCLC who are being treated with the goal of curing their cancer,” said Dr. Lauren Byers, thoracic section chief in the Department of Thoracic-Head & Neck Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Dr. Byers pointed out that Imfinzi helped patients live for years compared to many other treatment approaches, where the benefits were measured in months.

WATCH: Understanding Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer.

Another treatment option that has shown great promise is the drug 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. Herbst 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.

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 like 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.

WATCH: Imfinzi offering hope to patients.

Lorlatinib and crizotinib are other lung cancer treatments known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These drugs target ALK, a signaling protein inappropriately present in the tumors of about five percent of patients with NCSLC.

“It is encouraging that the upfront benefits of lorlatinib over crizotinib continue for several years in more than half the patients. It is also encouraging that patients receiving lorlatinib had much fewer incidences of brain metastasis, which can be devastating,” Dr. Leslie Busby, an oncologist at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, told SurvivorNet.

Five-year PFS, or the percentage of patients who lived five years without any evidence of cancer growth or death, was 60% among patients who received lorlatinib compared to only 8% among patients who received crizotinib—an absolute difference greater than 50%.

Chemotherapy & Lung Cancer

Lung cancer often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has already spread outside the lungs. Doctors may suspect lung cancer after seeing a shadow on a routine chest X-ray that requires further evaluation.

Once a lung cancer diagnosis is confirmed, it’s important to find out whether the cancer has spread. Depending on the part of the body being scanned, additional scans may include a CT scan, PET scan, or MRI.

The PET/CT scan combines two imaging tests in one. CT stands for computed tomography. It uses X-rays to take pictures of the body from many different angles.

PET is an acronym for positron emission tomography. It uses a radioactive form of sugar that cancer cells absorb more than healthy cells, helping to distinguish healthy cells from cancer. A PET scan can help determine the extent of the cancer’s spread and its stage before treatment.

WATCH: Understanding PET and CT Scans.

A scan of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and brain to see if the cancer has started to spread outside of the lung.

Treatment varies depending on the type and stage of cancer you have. If the cancer is local — meaning just in the lungs — surgery may be an option. However, if cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, a combination of radiation (use of X-ray-like beams focused on cancer cells to kill them) with chemotherapy, followed by immunotherapy (a treatment method where the immune system is re-engineered to target cancer cells and kill them), may be the best option.

Once the cancer has spread outside of the lungs, chemotherapy and/or targeted drugs are used to control its growth as much as possible. Brittany is thankful her lung cancer was caught at an early stage, allowing surgeons to remove it before it had spread and sparing her from needing additional treatment.

Surgery is more optimal for early-stage lung cancer, meaning the cancer has not spread beyond the lungs. For more advanced stages of lung cancer, adding chemotherapy and other treatment methods may be ideal.

Chemotherapy is often recommended in patients with high-risk features such as tumors > 4cm or in poorly differentiated tumors. There are other factors your clinical team will also consider when deciding whether chemotherapy is right for you.

Chemotherapy alone used to be the mainstay of treatment for stage 4 lung cancer. It is often used with other treatment options, such as immunotherapy, radiation therapy, or targeted medications. Chemotherapy is important in stage 4 cancer because often, more localized treatment options, like focused radiation or surgery, are no longer possible due to the extent of the disease and how much it has spread to other parts of the body (also called metastasis).

WATCH: How targeted therapies can be used for advanced lung cancer.

Systemic treatment of the body with chemotherapy is helpful to slow the progression of further growth of the primary cancer, prevent future metastasis, and relieve symptoms associated with existing tumors. However, chemotherapy works by killing all cell types, healthy or cancerous, that are multiplying quickly, so it does have significant side effects for the healthy tissue.

Some patients may also be considered for other therapies, including the targeted agent osimertinib and the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab. These drugs are very different from chemotherapy and are often much better tolerated. However, to receive these drugs, the tumor must test positive for certain biomarkers that allow these drugs to be effective. Genetic testing helps distinguish specific biomarkers in cancerous tumors and determine effective treatments.

How Molecular Testing Helps Lung Cancer Patients

Lung cancer treatment has seen notable progress, partly because of molecular testing and profiling. This type of testing helps better understand specific genetic alterations and mutations that drive the growth, development, and progression of cancer cells. Some of these molecular characteristics can be targeted using precise and effective new therapies to improve patient outcomes. Ultimately, understanding the molecular profile of each person’s cancer allows oncologists to use customized and personalized treatments.

RELATED Next-Generation Sequencing in Lung Cancer

There are several next-generation sequencing (NGS) tests you may encounter, depending on where you are getting treatment and what you are getting treatment for. Here are some of the common ones currently on the market:

• FoundationOne®CDx looks at 324 genes in solid tumors and says results can take up to 12 days. Test results include microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB) to help inform immunotherapy decisions.
• OmniSeq Insight provides comprehensive genomic and immune profiling for all solid tumors. It looks for 523 different genes. Test results include microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB), as well as PD-L1 by immunohistochemistry (IHC).
• Cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 identifies 42 mutations in exons 18, 19, 20, and 21 of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene. It is designed to test tissue and plasma specimens with a single kit, allowing labs to run tissue and plasma simultaneously on the same plate.

The Choice to Share

The choice to share or not share one’s cancer diagnosis is a personal one for anyone facing the disease, even if they’re not a celebrity. While some people choose to share only with close friends and family, others post their entire journey on social media, create blogs and detail their treatments, side effects and doctor reports.

Survivor Lauren Chiarello talks about staying present in the moment while battling cancer. 

According to Dr. Renee Exelbert, a licensed psychologist and founding director of The Metamorphosis Center for Psychological and Physical Change in New York, the decision to openly disclose or not disclose one’s diagnosis may be made more complicated for someone in the public eye, as they may feel pressure to serve as a role model, or to use their notable platform for the greater good.

She says public figures and celebrities are often held to a harsher standard, frequently having their appearance and behaviors rigorously evaluated. This might make hiding a cancer diagnosis more difficult and may also make disclosing a cancer diagnosis a greater burden to bear.

Also, just because someone is a public figure or celebrity does not spare them from judgment and the insensitive comments of others, especially while they may be fighting for their life.

Dr. Exelbert says the decision to disclose or not disclose a cancer diagnosis is a very individual and personal one in any case.

“Certain Individuals may feel as though their sense of self has been deeply impacted by their diagnosis, and they want to keep it private. At their core, certain individuals may struggle with appearing weak, vulnerable or sick, and particularly do not want to withstand the opinion or commentary of others while facing a cancer diagnosis,” she explained.

“Additionally, some may feel that revealing a cancer diagnosis may pose a threat to their sense of professional identity and how capable they are perceived by others.”

Dr. Exelbert also said some may feel they don’t have the coping resources to withstand scrutiny, whereas others may welcome the distraction and attention. Most importantly, however, she said there is no right or wrong approach.

“When an individual experiences trauma, which cancer certainly is, they need to be in charge of how their story is told in order to avoid further disempowerment.

“Thus, the decision to disclose or not to disclose should be wholly and rightfully left up to each individual.”

RELATED: “Too Embarrassed To Talk About Cancer”: Former MTV Host Ananda Lewis, 50, Says She Had to “Power Through Shame” To Share Breast Cancer Diagnosis With Her Family

So, is one way more beneficial than the other? Dr. Exelbert says there are pros and cons to sharing.

“A positive aspect of sharing one’s diagnosis on social media is the potential to receive an outpouring of support, occasionally from people all over the world who have experienced something similar, and who may be able to offer useful suggestions,” Exelbert says. “Additionally, someone’s unique story may catch the attention of those performing clinical trials or offering unique treatment options, looking for participants.”

She said the ability to inspire countless people with one’s experience and story can also be a very powerful motivating factor.

Learn to Accept Yourself — A Huge Part of Living With Cancer

“Some individuals are looking to chronicle their journey, almost as testament to what they have experienced and to leave a legacy. It might additionally be beneficial to publicly share one’s story, as it can serve as a platform to educate others about cancer and its emotional and physical symptoms, as well as challenge stigma and change society.”

On the other hand, she says a con of revealing one’s diagnosis on social media is that people may share unsolicited stories of poor outcomes that they have either heard about, or experienced personally, many of which are unrelated to your particular situation. For example, some may tell you they know someone who had the same type of cancer, but died, which can be overwhelming and create undue stress.

“Additionally, once you share your diagnosis, you often have to manage the emotional experience of others,” Dr. Exelbert told SurvivorNet. “Sometimes, people will be very upset by your diagnosis and need you to take care of them or make your situation easier for them to deal with. This can prove quite difficult when you are barely in control of managing your own emotions. Further, many individuals might find it quite difficult to present themselves in such a vulnerable way on social media, as many often utilize this medium to garner accolades from presenting their ‘ideal self’ versus their ‘real self.’”

RELATED: Why Do Some People Share Their Cancer Journey Publicly While Others Choose to Fight Quietly?

No matter what someone’s choice is when it comes to sharing a cancer diagnosis, the most important thing is that they feel support. For some, support from a few close friends, family members or professionals may be enough, while others need to feel connected on a larger scale. The last thing anyone needs is to be made to feel bad about that choice.

It’s important to remember that due to cancer treatment not being a one size fits all approach, it affects everyone different mentally, and not everyone feels comfortable sharing what they are going through with others in social situations.

Do I need to share my diagnosis with others? Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik weighs in.

Some people want to share their experiences as much as they can and others don’t want to tell anyone. Both of these approaches, and everything in between (maybe you only want to tell a few close friends about your diagnosis), are valid.

“Patients who have just been diagnosed with cancer sometimes wonder how they are going to handle the diagnosis of the cancer in social situations,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik explained to SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.

“How much information they should share and with whom they should share the information … everybody is different.”

Dr. Plutchik explains that some share the information widely, with family, friends, and beyond and feel comfortable doing so. “Other people are much more private about it,” she says. “And there is no one right way to handle this diagnosis.

“People should do what feels right to them. Going through a cancer diagnosis, through treatment, is often a very long process. And then if you also include after treatment ends where a person is in a kind of state of limbo, waiting to see if they are clear and get their scans. It may be three months or six months into the future. People are still dealing with uncertainty at that point,” she explains.

Dr. Plutchik also stresses that those close to a person going through cancer should be respectful of their wishes when it comes to disclosing their diagnosis and seeking support.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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