Jan’s lung cancer symptoms started with a pain in her upper back

My dianosis was a complete shock as a healthy recent retiree.

I'm Jan, and I'm 58 years old. I love to travel which, as you can see from my photo, recently included a fabulous time skiing in Austria! At first I found it a difficult step to reach out for help but since doing so I have found a great deal of support, encouragement and peace.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 EGFR+ lung cancer in 2022. I’d been experiencing ongoing pain in my chest, neck, upper back and shoulder. It will be 3 years this June since I was diagnosed, which started with a pain in my upper back. This came as a complete shock to me as a healthy, fit recent retiree.

Since then I have tried to live life to the full and fortunately been able to travel to some beautiful countries such as The Maldives, Barbados, Greece, Italy, Germany and others. I want to raise awareness of this silent disease which is often not diagnosed until the late stages.

We need to help change the perceptions around non smoking lung cancer as most people have no idea about it.

“I have tried to live life to the full and fortunately been able to travel to some beautiful countries such as The Maldives, Barbados, Greece, Italy, Germany and others.” - Jan