When Donna Thompson went to the emergency room in September 2015 for chest pain, the last thing she expected was a diagnosis of lung cancer. After all, she was only 45 and wasn't a smoker. But a chest X-ray found a mass. Testing over the next few weeks determined she had stage IIA adenocarcinoma (a type of cancer) in the upper lobe of her right lung.
"I was shocked," recalls Thompson, now 56, who lives in suburban Philadelphia. But she also was reassured by the early stage of her tumor. "I just was like, OK, I'm going to beat this, because the prognosis was very good from the start in terms of the size of like a small little spot, you know, and so I just kind of went through the motions."
A surgeon removed the upper right lobe of her lung, followed by a short course of chemotherapy and then scans every three to four months for the next five years to make sure her cancer hadn't returned.
What Thompson didn't know at the time was that her tumor was caused by a gene mutation in a cell protein called the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, which basically turns on cancer production. EGFR-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which she has, affects 10% to 15% of people with lung cancer, about 30,000 to 35,000 people in the U.S. every year. It also most often comes with being young, female, and never or rarely having smoked (as well as being of Asian heritage).
Thompson's cancer became a catalyst for her to change her lifestyle. She'd already been working to become more fit, after having been diagnosed with diabetes the previous year. But soon after her lung cancer experience, she had an epiphany.
"I would come home from work, sit on the couch because I'm tired, and watch Family Feud. I was like, 'I need to get up off this couch and do something with myself. I did not survive just to be sitting here on this couch, doing nothing with my life,'" Thompson says.
She hired a personal trainer, lost between 30 and 40 pounds, and reversed her diabetes numbers, getting in the best shape of her life. She found a new job in human relations and operations management, which she liked better than her previous insurance work. She adopted positive thinking strategies, such as the late ESPN anchor Stuart Scott's mantra about fighting cancer: "You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."
She also joined lung cancer advocacy groups, such as the Lung Cancer Foundation of America Speakers Bureau and the American Lung Association's Lung Force, which allowed her to share her experiences and help others with lung cancer.
The years ticked past, with no sign of cancer in her scans, which were taken every four months. After five years, her doctor said she needed to have scans only once a year.
Then, in 2022, when she was working from home at a new job, she happened across her latest scan result in her patient portal. She opened it before seeing any of her doctors. And, once again, she was shocked.
She had a new tumor, this time in the lower part of her right lung. It was about the same size as her original tumor had been when it was discovered.
"When I saw those results, I just screamed and I was crying," Thompson says. She'd had her last scan 11 months prior, but no cancer had been detected, leading her to wonder how it could grow this much so quickly.
After consulting with her surgeon, she learned that some of her prior scans had shown the tumor, but the radiologist had missed it, and her oncologist hadn't looked at the scans firsthand. "I was very angry for a long time," she says. Thompson then switched to a different oncologist.
To deal with the new tumor, her surgeon — who had done her previous lobectomy — recommended removing only a segment of her lower lung, to preserve as much lung as possible.
Thompson also had biomarker testing that found she had the EGFR-positive mutation, which meant new, targeted medications would be available to her. Later, Thompson found that she had tested positive for EGFR in 2015, but the information hadn't made its way out of her chart to her.
Knowing her cancer was EGFR-positive in 2015 wouldn't have changed her treatment back then, Thompson says, because only people with late-stage cancer were given the new targeted medications at that time. What might have changed was how long she was closely watched, so that new tumors might have been caught earlier, she says.
Still, Thompson counted herself fortunate because the new tumor was considered early stage (IIB) and she'd be able to take medications that had helped others with her type of lung cancer. Unfortunately, her body did not react well with the drug she was given. She developed complications that landed her in the emergency room, including severe facial swelling (angioedema) and inflammation in her mouth (mucositis).
To help deal with the recurrence, Thompson says she "had to dig back into my archive of things that mentally helped me get through the first time." These included tapping into her spiritual faith, connecting with a support group of African-American women like herself who also had lung cancer, and becoming even more fierce in her patient advocacy work.
Knowing she's helped another person helps her feel better, Thompson says. "I couldn't change what happened to me, but maybe I could help someone else." One way to do this was by example — to give hope to newly diagnosed people, showing them her energy and how she is living. She also spreads the message that "anyone with lungs can get lung cancer," which can be a wake-up call to people who think only smokers get the illness.
In the past two years, Thompson says, more tumors have been found, including a small spot in her brain two years ago, which doctors are watching. (This puts her cancer at stage IV.) In 2025, Thompson gave the drug that gave her issues before a third try, but once again, her body rebelled — this time with kidney failure. She was hospitalized and had to go on dialysis for three months before recovering. "My nephrologist tells me I'm a miracle," Thompson says. She also was diagnosed with a type of lupus related to kidney problems, but she believes she had undiagnosed lupus before this happened.
In July 2025, Thompson had radiation treatment to shrink the two lung tumors. She developed side effects in October, several months after treatment ended, which she was told is typical. The side effects included upsetting episodes of breathlessness while coughing, which lasted about two months, and a persistent cough, which has lingered until very recently.
This year, a small tumor was found in her left lung. In June, Thompson started taking a different, older EGFR medication. The drug gave her a skin rash and dry skin, but her lupus medications appear to be keeping the skin disruption manageable. And, on the positive side, the new medication also seems to be helping calm her persistent cough.
"About four or five days after I started taking it, I was sitting here and I was like, wait a minute, when was the last time I coughed?" she says. Before then, she was coughing so much she was worried that her apartment neighbors would think she was dying. "So I'm like, if the worst thing that's going to happen to me is I gotta scratch my face, or my skin is a little dry, I can live with it."
Advice for Patients
Thompson believes in educating herself about her health so that she can ask doctors informed questions and take part in her care. She also reviews her online records. But one thing she won't do again is view test results before she's seen her doctor.
Other tips:
Research your condition. Rather than only Googling, Thompson likes to look up articles published by the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), organizations focused on lung cancer, and websites hosted by medical centers. She looks up definitions of medical terms to help better understand what's being said. Then, she advises, bring questions to your doctor. "When you start doing that, they know that they need to pay attention and treat you," Thompson says.
Insist on biomarker testing, which can determine whether you have the EGRF mutation (or other mutations). "Do not leave the doctor without asking about biomarker testing," she says. Nor should you start treatment until sure about the type of cancer you have.
Ask whether clinical trials or other treatments are available.
Get a second opinion, especially for something like surgery. "What people don't know is that it's your right to request a second opinion," Thompson says. And, in today's digital age, you don't need to physically visit doctors in other locations — test results and other information can be shared online. Don't worry about hurting a provider's feelings; professionals should expect or welcome another opinion. "If you're with a provider and you ask for a second opinion and they squawk at you, then you don't want them," Thompson says.
See if you need other medical professionals on your team to treat other organs besides your lungs. For example, Thompson says, if you are getting CT scans with contrast, this can affect your kidneys, so ask if you should be checked by a nephrologist (a kidney specialist).
Be sure to get follow-up scans or other tests that your doctor orders.
'I'm Going to Keep Pushing'
Throughout her cancer journey, Thompson has worked to maintain a positive attitude, while also facing the reality of her illness. "I acknowledge the pain and the hard part," she says, but "I can always find a silver lining, a life lesson, or a blessing."
She also doesn't focus on survival statistics.
When Thompson was first diagnosed in 2015, the chance of survival past five years was 17%, she says. That was almost 11 years ago. She wears a pin that says "10-plus years" — and has stopped counting how many years it's been since her diagnosis, because doing so started to feel like some kind of perverse countdown.
"We all came here to do things; we all have one job to do," she says, speaking about humans' time on Earth. "None of us are getting out of here alive, and so I try not to focus on that, and I try to focus on continuing to do my part, to do all the things, even when I don't feel like it, even when I'm tired. Because I'm here, and I have another opportunity — and I have a friend who doesn't have that opportunity.
"So for me and for them, I'm going to keep pushing."
Show Sources
Photo Credit: E+/Getty Images
SOURCES:
Donna Thompson, diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015.
American Lung Association: "EGFR and Lung Cancer."
CURE Today: "Overview of Late-Stage Metastatic EGFR-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer."
Lung Cancer Foundation of America: "EGFR Mutation and Lung Cancer."
