"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.

he future of KRAS lung cancer treatment is moving fast ..here is what patients need to know about resistance, clinical trials, and emerging therapies, with thoracic oncologist Dr. Fawzi Abu Rous

In the final part of the Young Lung Cancer Initiative KRAS Lung Cancer Biomarker Education Series, Dr. Fawzi Abu Rous of Henry Ford Cancer Institute walks us through the KRAS pipeline beyond G12C, how resistance develops on targeted therapy, and how patients can find clinical trials and stay informed over time.

If you or a loved one is living with KRASnon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), this conversation is packed with practical next steps and a big dose of hope. KRAS is no longer undruggable.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

About Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLCI) The 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.

In this episode, Dr. Fawzi Abu Rous provides a comprehensive overview of the treatment, monitoring, and progression of KRAS-driven lung cancer. The discussion covers the use of immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and the importance of clinical trials. Additionally, the role of monitoring and the emergence of new therapies are explored in detail.

Takeaways

• KRAS Treatment Overview
• Monitoring and Progression in KRAS-Positive Lung Cancer

Chapters

• 00:00 Treatment for KRAS-Driven Lung Cancer
• 05:49 Early Stage Treatment and Monitoring
• 15:37 Monitoring and Clinical Trials

This episode is proudly sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

About Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLCI) The 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.

Mirrored EGFR template structure for KRAS podcast description

In the premiere of our KRAS Biomarker Series, we're joined by Dr. Fawzi Abu Rous, a renowned thoracic medical oncologist at Henry Ford Cancer Institute, to demystify the biology of a KRAS positive diagnosis.

For decades, KRAS was labeled "undruggable" the most common oncogenic driver in lung cancer, yet completely out of reach for targeted therapy. That changed when scientists discovered a hidden "pocket" on the G12C mutation, unlocking the first wave of KRAS inhibitors and rewriting what's possible for patients. Dr. Abu Rous walks us through how KRAS functions as a molecular "on/off switch" that gets jammed in the "on" position, why Comprehensive Biomarker Testing is non-negotiable, and what makes the KRAS landscape uniquely complex compared to other driver mutations.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The "Jammed Switch": How a single amino acid swap flips KRAS into overdrive and drives uncontrolled cell growth.
• From "Undruggable" to Targetable: The decades-long puzzle and the G12C breakthrough that cracked it open.
• Reading the Genetic Address: Why G12C, G12D, G12V, and G13 mutations behave like different neighborhoods on the same street — and why each one matters.
• The Biomarker Testing Imperative: Why a complete molecular workup, not a partial panel, determines the path forward.
• Beyond the Stereotypes: Debunking assumptions about who gets KRAS-driven lung cancer and why young, never-smokers belong in this conversation too.

This episode is proudly sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

About Young Lung Cancer Initiative (YLCI) The 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.

In the final episode of our three-part EGFR Biomarker Series, Leah Phillips of Young Lung Cancer Initiative sits down with Dr. Eric Singhi of MD Anderson Cancer Center to go beyond the basics into the topics EGFR patients ask about most.

This conversation covers small cell transformation, leptomeningeal disease (LMD), resistance mechanisms, the role of co-mutations like TP53 and RB1, and the emerging research and clinical trials shaping the future of EGFR driven lung cancer care.

Whether you've just been diagnosed or you've been living with EGFR lung cancer for years, this episode is a reminder that knowledge is power, advocacy matters, and there is real hope in this space.

Listen to Part 1 (EGFR 101) and Part 2 (Treating & Managing EGFR Lung Cancer) wherever you get your podcasts.

This series is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. Sponsorship does not influence content. Young Lung Cancer Initiative maintains full editorial control over all educational material and patient stories.

How is EGFR driven lung cancer actually treated and monitored? In Episode 2 of the YLCI EGFR Education Biomarker Series, co-founder Leah Phillips sits down with thoracic oncologist Dr. Eric Singhi of MD Anderson to talk through early-stage treatment, adjuvant TKIs, brain MRI surveillance, oligo versus poly progression, and his "chess, not checkers" approach to long-term sequencing. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.