In November 2013, Frank had a cough he just couldn’t shake. It was a chronic dry cough that began to disrupt his life, especially when he had to leave meetings for a coughing fit. He decided he needed to bring up the problem with his healthcare provider. He didn’t have any other health conditions, and his healthy lifestyle gave them no reason to suspect cancer. But his doctor still suggested a chest X-ray, which came back inconclusive.
Over the next six months, Frank continued to see doctors and receive tests. His doctor first suspected allergies, then walking pneumonia, then asthma. He sought out specialists and eventually his pulmonologist ruled out asthma and suggested a CT scan. Finally, the scan showed that he had a tumor on the left lung. An oncologist and surgeon were consulted and agreed Frank had stage IV non-small cell adenocarcinoma. The lung cancer had metastasized to his vertebrae, ribs and lymph nodes.
Despite this devastating diagnosis, Frank’s health team had a plan. “The doctors said they were seeing a group of individuals that fit my profile: never smokers who are generally healthy but get lung cancer. They suggested biomarker testing to see if I was a candidate for targeted treatment.”
What a Difference a Biomarker Makes
By performing a FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) test, they were able to identify that Frank’s cancer was caused by an ALK mutation. “The ALK biomarker became the best news we got,” Frank said.
The FDA first approved targeted therapy for the ALK mutation in 2011. Frank’s treatment started very soon after, and though it was early on, it showed Frank what was possible with biomarker testing. He now understood that his specific biomarker could make a difference in his quality of life and survivability. “My oncologist would tell us that we were going for a cure, because we wanted to approach this with a nothing to lose mentality. I was 35 with three young kids so we decided to throw the kitchen sink at it.”
He began his targeted therapy with good results. About nine months into his first round of treatment, he had surgery to remove the left lower lobe of his lung where the primary tumor was located. The original targeted treatment did not protect the cancer from metastasizing to the brain, so another nine months later his doctors used gamma knife radiosurgery, a non-invasive procedure that could target the spot, to remove a brain tumor. That gave him another six months before an MRI showed more spots on the brain.
At this point, Frank’s healthcare team decided that they needed to switch medications to prevent further tumor progression, and so he was put on a second-line therapy that protects the brain. Just three months later, the spots on his brain were gone. “It’s pretty miraculous and a testament to how effective these medicines are,” Frank said.
For the last eight years, Frank has continued to take his second-generation targeted therapy drug and has even been able to taper it back to half the normal dose. “I never had to experience the sickness and side effects of being on IV chemo. I was able to continue working full-time throughout the entire journey and be there for my kids who are now teenagers. I was really lucky.”
Advocating for Research
In 2017, Frank decided he wanted to create a support group for lung cancer patients in his area, Omaha, and found that there were many roadblocks he hadn’t anticipated. Instead, he found support groups through the American Lung Association. “Community building and finding your people is so important and is what everyone who gets a lung cancer diagnosis should try to plug into as much as they can and they can start with their local American Lung Association events,” Frank said.
Since then, he has visited Washington D.C. for LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day two different times. This year, he felt that sharing his story and pointing out the specific impacts of the decisions that people are making in Washington was more important than ever. “Without the research to identify the biomarker that worked for me, we wouldn’t have targeted therapy and who knows where I’d be,” he said. “And all that started 20 plus years ago, so cutting off projects today will have real consequences down the road, it is just a terrible idea.”
Lung cancer research moves at a rapid pace, as does discovering new biomarkers and treatments like Frank’s. For people with lung cancer, biomarker testing and targeted therapies can improve treatment outcomes, reduce side effects and help them live longer. Unfortunately, not enough people diagnosed with lung cancer are getting biomarker testing, and even more don’t have easy access to biomarker testing through their health plans. Learn more about biomarker research and how it saves lives.
Blog last updated: August 11, 2025
