Raising money to find ongoing ALK+ lung cancer research so I can live a full, long life with lung cancer!
My Story
I was shockingly diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November of 2024. As a never-smoker with no family history I didn’t realize lung cancer was a risk for me. But lung cancer is growing rapidly in healthy young women! My type, which is called ALK+, in particular affects young healthy women. 1 in 18 women will get lung cancer in their lifetime. I just happen to be that 1.
ALK+ cancer is incurable and never goes fully away. The treatment I am on currently has me in stable partial remission but medical research NEEDS to advance to develop a drug that will Permanently suppress my ALK gene.
More research = more life and I will never stop fighting for a chance to see my children grow up!
About ALK+ Lung Cancer from alkpositive.org: “ALK-positive cancer” refers to the rearrangement of the EML4 gene and the ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) gene in your DNA, resulting in a fusion oncogene EML4-ALK. An oncogene is a gene that is a mutated and may cause cancer cells. If you have cancer with an “ALK rearrangement”, part of your ALK gene is mutated, resulting in uncontrolled cell replication- cancer.” It is not a hereditary mutation and we do not know why the rearrangement happens. ALK-positive lung cancer occurs in approximately 5% of all lung cancer patients. However, it occurs in approximately 30% of lung cancer patients diagnosed under age 40!