Rasheed Marshall understands the secondhand effects of cancer well. First his mom, Joycelyn, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. It came back in 2015 and eventually metastasized (spread) to her lungs. Soon after, his brother-in-law Romain was diagnosed with brain cancer. They both passed away the same week. 

Laurie Seligman, a 57-year-old bookkeeper living in Texas, had a lingering cough, but over-the-counter cough syrup seemed to help, so she didn’t think much of it and she continued with her usual activities. 

One day in 2017, she hurt her back moving a heavy bed, and went to her general care doctor. She mentioned the cough and got an X-ray. After being treated for pneumonia, her symptoms subsided. She had a follow-up X-ray but was told that it was normal for the pneumonia to still be visible on the scans even after the symptoms were gone.  

I was told on October 11, 2007, that I had non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). I was 46 years old with 2 kids — 7 and 12 year olds — at home waiting for me.

I had an MRI and PET scan and had my second lung cancer diagnosis. I went to Lombardi Cancer Center in Georgetown (Washington, DC) and they took care of me.  Those amazing people guided me on my journey with bilateral lung cancer.

I was not aware of biomarkers back then, but I had bilateral thoracotomies and chemotherapy.

I survived.    

In 2016, I was told about my next diagnosis.

We are collecting stories from patients, caregivers, friends, and family members! Tell us how lung cancer has affected your life. Email your story to us at support@lungevity.org. Thanks!

Patient Rosemary Conway was joined by LUNGevity's Dr. Amy Moore and Hatim Husain, an oncologist at UCSD, to discuss biomarker testing and progress in KRAS-positive lung cancer.