My whole life changed when I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 49. I was in complete shock. I’d never had any symptoms.

I live in Las Vegas and was working in security at a casino on the Strip at the time. I was very active and exercised, and my health was good overall. I went in for yearly physical exams and had no health problems.

The First Sign: Leg Pain

In December 2021, I began to have some pain in the upper hip and thigh area of my right leg. I thought I had pulled a muscle in my leg at work or while exercising and didn’t overthink it, but the pain wasn’t going away, and it went from very dull to very intense. I took ibuprofen, and at first it took the pain away, but eventually it didn’t work anymore. I had pain every day, and nothing was helping.

I began walking, limping, and having a hard time living with the pain, including working. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor. The soonest I could get in was February 2022. My doctor took my symptoms very seriously. She prescribed some muscle relaxers and pain medication and ordered an MRI of my leg.

The medication didn’t help the pain at all. The pain would stop for a couple of hours and then return. Applying an ice compress or a heating pad relieved some of the pain, but it didn’t matter what I was doing — my leg would hurt. I’d never experienced pain so bad.

A Clearer Picture

The MRI results showed that my upper leg was fine. Nothing was abnormal, but the radiologist saw something suspicious in the corner of my pelvis. The radiologist said in the report that I should have an MRI done on my pelvis.

The next MRI showed that I had tumors on my hip and pelvis. The radiologist said that it looked like metastatic disease and ordered a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to find the primary site of the cancer. These tests were all done in February 2022.

I couldn’t believe what was happening to my body, and the news of the tumors and hearing the word “cancer” scared me so much. I felt like I was dying each day. All I was doing was sleeping and going to doctors’ appointments — and crying when I was awake. By then, the pain was so bad that I was on two pain medications, trying to get the pain under control. I had to stop working and go on medical leave.

My right leg kept getting worse and began to swell and get heavy. I couldn’t lift it at all, and both feet were swollen. I couldn’t put any weight on my leg. When I did have to walk, I needed to use a cane to keep from falling. Walking was so painful that with each step, I would have sudden spasms in my hip and thigh that took my breath away.

Waiting and Wondering

The PET scan results were not good. The cancer was in my right lung, on my hip and pelvis, and my right and left adrenal glands. I couldn’t believe what my doctor was telling me, and I knew I had stage 4 cancer. Stage 4 — what was I going to do? How was I going to survive?

Then I had to wait for an appointment with the lung specialist. The waiting is the hardest. You feel so powerless.

In March, I had my appointment, and then I had to wait again to get a biopsy in April to confirm I had lung cancer. I had to wait again — I felt like I was going crazy playing this waiting game. I felt like the cancer was just spreading in my body, and here I was, waiting for a biopsy. I couldn’t believe all the medical steps you need to take before seeing an oncologist.

It was May when I finally got the results: I had lung cancer. I started getting very sick and beginning to have a nasty cough, and the pain in my leg was still uncontrollable. I was taking pain medication, but it wasn’t helping, and I couldn’t walk.

I went to the hospital to get help with the pain in my leg, and they did some tests and found that I had pneumonia and my oxygen level was very low. I was admitted to the hospital, started on antibiotics, and had breathing treatments. The doctors said I had fluid in my right lung, and it needed to be drained, but it would come right back.

Finally, I saw a thoracic surgeon who told me I wasn’t a candidate for surgery due to the size of the mass in my lung. He suggested putting a tube in my right lung so that I could then drain the fluid at home. This way, I could get out of the hospital, make an appointment with the oncologist, and start treatment. I was sent home with oxygen and more pain medication, and I had a tube in my right lung that I had to drain every two days.

A Correct Diagnosis Leads to the Right Treatment

My primary care doctor scheduled an appointment with an oncologist in June. By that time, I was so sick. Just walking was hard, and I needed help with everything. I was on oxygen 24-7. I was taking pain medication every four to six hours. I don’t remember a lot of my visits; I just felt so confused and in so much pain. Simply walking from the car into the building was hard.

The oncologist was very nice. “We will make you better,” the oncologist told me. “I’m going to do genetic testing on your biopsy and find out if you have a genetic mutation.”

I learned that I have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the biopsy came back positive for the ALK gene. I started the chemo medication alectinib (Alecensa) due to testing positive for ALK in June 2022 and have been on the same drug thus far. I also did target therapy radiation on my hip and pelvis, and the masses have decreased in size.

I’m not in any pain anymore, and I was able to stop all pain medication. I’m walking again without using a cane. My right leg will never be the same — it’s very weak, and I lost some movement with flexibility and have a hard time walking fast and climbing stairs.

Once I started the chemo, I was surprised that all of a sudden, I had less and less fluid in my right lung. I was able to get the tube out in October 2023 and went off the oxygen, too. My PET scans have been good, and the medication is working. So far, there haven’t been any new growths, and the masses are shrinking in my right lung.

My body is responding to treatment, and I have very few side effects. My bones are still showing signs of active cancer. I’m not sure if I will ever be in remission, and that does scare me. I try not to think about the bad and instead focus on the good — that I’m still alive.

How Cancer Has Changed Me — for the Better

Once I started to feel better, my attitude changed, and I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I had to accept that I had cancer and that my life would never be the same. I had to slow down and start enjoying my life. Cancer made me realize how important life is and how quickly your life can change.

I returned to work in January 2023 and transferred to a different department, an office environment desk job in the same casino. The hardest part: I had to accept that I couldn’t return to work as a security manager. I couldn’t do the physical part of the job. I have done security for 24 years. I worked hard to achieve, sacrificed family time for work, and missed many family occasions and time with my family. Co-workers in security treated me differently when they found out I had lung cancer. They didn’t know how to speak to me and, over time, just stopped talking to me.

It surprises me what people ask you when they find out you have lung cancer. I always get asked if I smoke. I never smoked, but I was around smoke every day while working in a casino.

I felt sometimes like I had to defend myself for having lung cancer. I found out fast that no one talks about lung cancer, and there aren’t many fundraisers in Las Vegas for lung cancer, not like they have for breast cancer. I didn’t even know that November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. More education needs to be done to educate the public that anyone can get lung cancer.

Cancer has changed me for the better. I enjoy my family, don’t stress about work, and enjoy my good days. I am thankful for the research that has been done and the medication that’s available for me to have more time and make more memories.

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