Lung cancer: Know the signs, take action
A special kind of scan called a low-dose CT can find lung cancer early and lower the chance of dying from it by about 20%.
- Coughing that does not go away
- Coughing up blood
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Fatigue
- Weight loss without trying
- Repeated pneumonia
Lifestyle
Home environment
Work and community
Medical and family history
Lung cancer is easier to treat when found early. Get screened.
Imaging tests
Lab tests
Biopsy
Biomarker testing
[00:00-00:02]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[The video fades into a woman speaking to the camera.]
I'm Emily.
[00:03-00:10]
[The woman's name and title appear against a white background, Emily, Living With Lung Cancer, then fades away.]
I was diagnosed at age 39 with stage 4 lung cancer with metastasis to my brain and throughout my spine.
[00:11-00:15]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
I had no known risk factors, no known family history. I'd never smoked.
[00:16-00:18]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
You just feel like the rug has been totally pulled out from underneath you.
[00:19-00:35]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
You feel very isolated and in spite of having a wonderful family and support community in my life, I just felt there was just a gulf between myself and everyone else now that I have this life-threatening health condition.
[00:36-00:50]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
I thought chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, if you're fortunate and, and it's caught early. I didn't have any idea that there were other options.
[00:51-00:57]
[As Emily continues speaking to the camera, a definition of comprehensive genomic profiling fades in next to her. The text says, "Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP): The most thorough type of biomarker testing that enables the detection of genomic alterations in a person's cancer tumor cells to inform treatment decisions."]
Comprehensive genomic profiling was something that my doctor brought up the first time we met with him.
[00:58-01:00]
[Emily stands at a table and prepares food.]
He said we you have a targetable biomarker
[01:02-01:04]
[Emily sits a table and takes a sip of coffee. The definition of CGP fades away.]
and we have a treatment path
[01:05-01:09]
[Emily looks out a window.]
and that was a flood of relief and hope for us.
[01:10-01:21]
[Emily appears back on screen talking to the camera.]
What that means to me is that you're not just treating cancer, you're not even just treating lung cancer. That's where my cancer happened to originate,
[01:22-01:26]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
but you are treating something that is an alteration that is targetable.
[01:27-01:34]
[Emily walks along a path in the forest.]
I exercise, I travel, and I'm able to live my life with this disease not being defined by this disease.
[01:35-01:38]
[Emily opens a door, walks inside, and shuts the door.]
And that's all because of genomic profiling.
[01:39-01:44]
[Emily appears back on screen talking to the camera.]
Lung cancer advocacy is part of my new sense of purpose.
[01:45-02:06]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
I discovered RETpositive and I, through that, made friends with people who are my age who were going through the same thing. Cancer can be so isolating, and that was really important to me. And I didn't even know that I was missing that, I just was feeling a void.
[02:06-02:14]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
It made me feel like, oh, there is a community out there and I'm a part of this community. I'm not going through this disease alone.
[02:15-02:19]
[Emily sits down and opens a book.]
There are many excellent treatments that exist today
[02:20-02:26]
[Emily reads a book.]
that people may not ever access because they aren't getting the precise diagnosis of their condition.
[02:27-02:35]
[Emily appears back on screen talking to the camera.]
It is so much better to know from the outset, I have an alteration and there are these treatments available for that alteration.
[02:36-02:42]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
It's all information critical to our survival as cancer patients.
[02:43-02:50]
[Emily continues speaking to the camera.]
Cancer is hard and it's scary, but you are not powerless and you're not alone.
[02:51-02:56]
[The video fades out and music fades in. A red background emerges, featuring the white Lilly logo centered on the screen.]
[00:00-00:03]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[The video fades into a man speaking to the camera. His name and title appear against a white background, Cory, Caregiver For Loved One With Lung Cancer]
My name is Cory. I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
[00:04-00:17]
[Cory appears on screen talking to the camera]
My father just kind of gave us all a call and shared that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. It was unexpected because he didn’t have a history of any type of illness with his lungs,
[00:18-00:21]
[Cory is in his backyard and walks up to the deck]
not a smoker, he lived healthy as well.
[00:22-00:29]
[Cory is on the deck and walks over to sit in a chair. He opens a magazine]
The main emotion that I felt was shock and disbelief. It took a couple of days for it to fully sink in.
[00:30-00:46]
[Cory appears back on screen talking to the camera]
With my wife being an oncology nurse, my brother being an anesthesiologist, they were able to help both emotionally as well as informationally, help me and my siblings kind of understand the cancer and deal with the ramifications of it.
[00:47-00:56]
[Cory continues speaking to the camera]
My dad loves to hunt, he loves to fish, he loves to spend time with family, and then in his day-to-day, he loves to volunteer and serve for the church that he’s part of the congregation for.
[00:57-01:05]
[Cory continues speaking to the camera]
And upon diagnosis, he thought that he may have to stop that. But, upon receiving the treatment that he has, he was able to continue living the life that he wants to.
[01:06-01:13]
[As Cory speaks to the camera, a definition of comprehensive genomic profiling fades in next to him. The text says, "Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP): The most thorough type of biomarker testing that enables the detection of genomic alterations in a person’s cancer tumor cells to inform treatment decisions."
We had never heard about comprehensive genomic profiling, and I remember to this day when my dad got the phone call and he looks up at us smiling.
[01:14-01:21]
[Cory continues speaking to the camera while the definition of CGP fades out of the frame]
The biomarker testing ultimately helped us understand the type of cancer that my father had so that we can make the best choice in terms of treatment in the future.
[01:22-01:31]
[Cory continues speaking to the camera]
Once we had the biomarker results and understood that there was a path forward, we had hope back. And we understood that my dad's life wasn't going to change like we thought it would.
[01:32-01:40]
[Cory sits at his desk and types on a laptop]
It's a whole new world of definitions and words and things that we've never heard about but also there's an emotional piece to it as well.
[01:41-01:55]
[Cory appears back on screen talking to the camera]
As a caregiver, you’re the one that really needs to fully understand what the treatment is, what the cancer is. So my advice would be to ask questions and have an open relationship almost with the doctor just like the patient has.
[01:56-02:00]
[Cory continues speaking to the camera]
So ultimately, looking at my dad and having known him my whole life, if anything he lives life more than he did before.
[02:01-02:15]
[Cory continues speaking to the camera]
And he was able to meet my son, and meet my daughter as well. And that's huge that he’s able to continue living his life, but also continue having those special moments with his kids and his grandkids that he wouldn’t have been able to have without treatment.
[02:16-02:21]
[The video fades out and music fades in. A red background emerges, featuring the white Lilly logo centered on the screen.]
Common treatment options for lung cancer
There are different ways to treat lung cancer. Your doctor will help you choose what’s best for you. You might get more than one kind of treatment at the same time. It’s important to ask questions and understand how each treatment works and what side effects it might have.
Here are some common treatments:
- Surgery – Doctors remove the cancer from your body.
- Chemotherapy – Medicine that helps shrink or kill cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy – Medicine that helps your body’s immune system fight cancer.
- Targeted Therapy – Medicine that attacks cancer cells but leaves healthy cells alone.
- Radiation Therapy – High-energy rays (like X-rays) that kill cancer cells.
Learn more about Lilly's FDA-approved treatment option for lung cancer.
Explore clinical trial opportunities
Your story matters: a creative outlet for patients, their loved ones, and their care teams.
For two decades, Oncology on Canvas® has provided people in the cancer community with an opportunity to share their stories through art and narrative. The program is a partnership between Lilly, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and the Cancer Support Community.
The program encourages submissions of all types, including poetry, watercolor, oil and acrylic painting, pastels, photography, and mixed media artwork.
You don't have to be a professional artist to experience the power of creative expression.
![Photograph of a painting titled: [The World] A Little Different Through My Eyes Now. The painting visually represents trees and an orange sky with clouds.](https://delivery-p137454-e1438138.adobeaemcloud.com/adobe/assets/urn:aaid:aem:9a77dc12-b588-4ee3-bae4-4b1e14f1e1a4/as/_The-World_-A-Little-Different-Through-My-Eyes-Now.avif?assetname=_The+World_+A+Little+Different+Through+My+Eyes+Now.jpg)
