Christine’s journey began with a stage 3 triple-positive breast cancer diagnosis, which unexpectedly led to the discovery of her 2A lung cancer. Despite experiencing no symptoms related to lung cancer, it was detected during the testing process for her breast cancer. Although initially dismissed as insignificant, Christine’s persistence and intuition compelled her to advocate for further investigation. She insisted on a biopsy, which revealed that the lung nodule was not a benign or insignificant finding. The subsequent CT scan showed the nodule shrinking during chemotherapy, raising further alarms.

Empowered by her cancer journey, Christine tapped into her assertiveness and communicated her needs. She pushed for additional tests such as a PET scan and a biopsy, seeking alternative opinions when the initial results were inconclusive. Trusting her intuition proved crucial in navigating her medical care and making informed decisions. Following a lower lung resection, Christine faced complications during her recovery but gradually healed and focused on rebuilding her lung capacity and overall strength through physiotherapy. Weeks later, she received the surprising confirmation that the nodule was cancerous, an entirely separate primary cancer.

Investigation into her childhood home revealed high levels of radon gas, indicating a potential environmental cause for lung cancer. Christine emphasizes the significance of trusting one’s intuition and speaking up when something feels amiss, particularly for women. Her experience has propelled her to empower and support others facing cancer.

At The Patient Story, our lung cancer stories provide a glimpse into the experiences, emotions, and triumphs to offer support, encouragement, and a sense of community to people who are going through similar journeys.

Pre-diagnosis

I don’t believe that I felt any symptoms in regard to lung cancer. I truly believe that I wouldn’t have found it either without the first primary cancer. Lung cancer is one of those scary things that once you start feeling symptoms tends to be a little bit advanced.

In a way, I was quite fortunate that breast cancer led to more testing. During that process, we found another cancer that may not have been found for many years.

Two months into my breast cancer journey, we did the CT scan. I was so far along in my breast cancer journey that they wanted to test other areas of my body to see if it had migrated. We tested the liver, brain, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and reproductive organs.

They were so busy with the process of my breast cancer that they just didn’t think to check it. They had forgotten that they gave it to me.

I was just frustrated one night [so] I checked it and I realized it changed. That’s when I started making phone calls and setting off alarms.

The original scan done two months into my breast cancer journey showed 1.4 cm in size. When we went in for surgery, we realized that it had changed to 1.1 so it got smaller in five months of chemotherapy.

Advocating for yourself

In my past life, I was a very strong people-pleaser. If the guy in the white coat told me not to worry, I would just listen.

When this all happened and I started checking my own scans, I really pulled out a version of me that [lay] dormant for a long time. I got really, really unapologetic about who I was and what I wanted.

I called my oncologist and said, “Hey, I don’t know how I got your phone number, but I need to talk to you.” I really found it quite empowering at that time to say, “I want a PET scan. I want that done. I want a biopsy. We’re doing this.” Really brought out a version of me that I didn’t know prior to this.

Being in tune with your body

I think that we all have [the] ability to be intuitive about our own bodies. I can’t speak for men, but I know that women truly know what’s going on. We know what’s going on in our relationships. We know what’s going on in our friendships. We know what’s going on in our bodies.

There’s a part of us that, from a young age, was told don’t make a scene, be the good girl that everyone wants [us] to be, and don’t speak up so we don’t. We push it down. 

Cancer gave me the ability to hear that small little voice that says, “Hey, there’s something wrong here,” and communicate it.

Trauma from the surgery

Everything that I went through was so difficult. But the trauma that I don’t know that I’ve really dealt with was this surgery. I feel it deeply when I speak about it.

When I woke up from that surgery, which was supposed to be quite smooth, I had a reaction of some kind. I don’t recall what the medical term is but it’s a spasming of the lung [where] the patient can’t breathe in deeply.

You wake up drugged, confused, and can’t breathe. The most natural thing to do as a human is to breathe. The scariest thing to lose is breath and it was a very scary time.

It was pretty crazy. It was 45 minutes of me not knowing. They spoke to me, but I don’t know what they said. I know that they said things like, “This will pass,” or “You’ll be okay,” but I don’t recall them saying that. I just remember sipping for air and it’s difficult to remember it.

It’s like the lights would get bright then dim then bright then dim. I remember thrashing, panicking, and not really knowing what was happening.

My husband wasn’t allowed in the hospital because of COVID. He didn’t know what was wrong with me and if I was okay. No one would give anyone any answers. It was awful. It was scary.

Post-surgery plan

I was very fortunate to catch it very early. They’ve never given me an official staging, but from what I understand from my oncologist, he believes it was a 2A, which tends to be completely asymptomatic.

I was really fortunate to have it removed with clear borders right away. There was no treatment plan because we were already following with left-side radiation for my breast and the lung tumor was directly behind my breast on the left side. The radiation took care of what they would have done.

After asking if I had smoked, the surgeon also asked me if I’d ever heard of radon gas. Never heard of it. He said that they’ve tested it for genetic markers and there is none. They said this has got to be environmental.

They asked if I have any way of testing my childhood home for radon gas so that’s what I did. I got connected with the lung association in my province. We tested my childhood home and it came back high.

We believe that the reason that this cancer [was] expressed is because I was already in a breast cancer state so it allowed another cancer to come through that was lying dormant, that we believe is caused by radon gas.

Bad things happen to everyone. Sometimes it’s cancer, sometimes it’s divorce, and sometimes it’s [the] loss of somebody you love. So many things that it could be.

Every single time, there is a way to take that pain and alchemize it. There is a way to turn that pain into power. I invite you to do that, to not fall victim to the situation that happened to you, but instead to transmute what you went through into the version of you that you’ve always wanted to be.

I’m so excited to help people. That’s really all I’ve ever wanted to do. Now I’m living my purpose and connecting with people and I’m really grateful.