"I completely deflated."
When Jessie was told she was "not a candidate" for surgery to remove her primary lung tumor (the "mothership"), she didn't just accept the answer. As a professional producer, she did what she does best: she assembled an "A-Team" of the world’s leading experts to find a path forward.
In this powerful conclusion to our three-part series, Jessie shares the "sobering conversations," the medical disagreements, and the path that eventually led her to a successful surgery.

⚠️ Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Assembling a Care Team
01:40 Navigating Treatment Options
05:17 The Role of Advocacy in Care
06:53 Hope for the Future of Lung Cancer Treatment

Thank you to Johnson & Johnson for supporting this series.

📢 Amplifying the Voices of Young-Onset Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is often caught late in young adults because "they're too young." At the Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLCI), we are changing that narrative. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing support, research, and advocacy for the young-onset community.
New here? Hit SUBSCRIBE to help us share these stories and ensure no young person faces this diagnosis alone.

💙 Learn More
🌐 Visit Our Website: https://ylci.org/

📱 Connect With Us
Instagram— @younglungcancer

"My five-year-old asked if he could watch a show now. My middle daughter wanted to know how this cancer was different from everyone else's."

In Part 2 of this 3-part series, Jessie and Leah go deeper into what it actually looks like to live with Stage 4 EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer. Jessie walks through how she told her three kids about her diagnosis. She and Leah discuss the caregiving burden that nobody talks about.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:47 Telling the Kids
02:30 Three Kids, Three Completely Different Reactions
04:15 Following Each Other's Lead: The Caregiver Experience
06:45 "A Picture of My Brain, Just to Make Sure It's Still Smiling"
07:30 Keeping the Conversation Evolving as Kids Get Older

Thank you to Johnson & Johnson for supporting this series.

⚠️ Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

#lungcancer #patient #egfr

📢 Amplifying the Voices of Young-Onset Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is often caught late in young adults because "they're too young." At the Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLCI), we are changing that narrative. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing support, research, and advocacy for the young-onset community.
New here? Hit SUBSCRIBE to help us share these stories and ensure no young person faces this diagnosis alone.

💙 Learn More
🌐 Visit Our Website: https://ylci.org/
📱 Connect With Us
Instagram— @younglungcancer

Jessie was 42 when she was diagnosed with stage IV EGFR non-small cell lung cancer but her symptoms had been dismissed for nearly a year. Night sweats, panic attacks, a pneumonia that never fully resolved, and a cough that just wouldn't quit. It wasn't until November that a pulmonologist finally told her, "We should have given you a bronchoscopy yesterday."

What followed was five days that changed everything.

In this first episode, Jessie talks about the year of symptoms that almost got written off, the week of her diagnosis, what it felt like to collapse on the sidewalk not knowing if she'd see her kids grow up, and what happened when she finally found out her cancer was targetable.

This series is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.

About Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLCI). YLCI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the young-onset community. We provide support, research, and advocacy to ensure that no young person faces a lung cancer diagnosis alone.

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.