“I never smoked, I lived a basically healthy life, there was no reason to have lung cancer,” said Leah Bochnicek.
It began with a wheezing sound when she breathed, then a persistent cough. For more than a year, 44-year-old Leah Bochnicek couldn’t get a diagnosis.
“I was honestly looking for what was wrong and missing it and other doctors were missing it and all I needed was a simple chest X-ray,” said Bochnicek.
In 2013, the mother of three was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer.
“There is this stigma that this is a self-inflicted cancer,” said Dr. Rudy Lackner.
Dr. Rudy Lackner, the Chief Thoracic Surgeon at Nebraska Medicine says about 20 percent of women diagnosed with lung cancer are non-smokers.
“The initial testing showed that I have adenocarcinoma of the lungs, they said we’re going to do chemo therapy, chances aren't good,” said Bochnicek.
Bochnicek was convinced she had a death sentence. That was until a test revealed she had a mutation of the cancer that could be treated with a daily pill.
FDA approved Xalkori isn’t a cancer cure, but it’s keeping Bochnicek alive. She hopes that one day researchers can pin point the environmental factors that cause lung cancer in non-smokers.
“It certainly needs a lot of funding. If you look at the funding that goes into lung cancer research, it really lags behind,” said Dr. Lackner.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer, but the least funded.
After her diagnosis, Bochnicek started the non-profit Lungs4Life. Through numerous fundraisers she has raised thousands of dollars for lung cancer research. This weekend she and others alike are headed to Capitol Hill for the Lung Cancer Alliance’s eighth National Lung Cancer Summit.
The group will take their collective voices to Capitol Hill to work for increased research funding for lung cancer.
“I’m the prime example that anyone can get Lung Cancer,” said Bochnicek.
