Shaun’s update: nearly five years on first-line treatment for stage 4 ALK+ lung cancer
Shaun first shared his story with us in 2025. He’s an accountant and runner from London, and he spent three months going back and forth between his GP and the hospital with painful shoulder blades before he was diagnosed with stage 4 ALK+ lung cancer in 2022. An earlier x-ray had missed it.
He’s doing well. His first targeted treatment is still working, and he’s still working, running and travelling.
“I have no pain, and the side‑effects of treatment have been very manageable.”
His wife is Polish, and this year they’ve been to Poland three times, visiting places even she hadn’t seen before.
It hasn’t all been straightforward. A year ago, an MRI showed early signs that the cancer might be progressing in his brain. A few small changes have shown up on scans since then, but after a year of monitoring, his team haven’t needed to change his treatment. Shaun knows that at some point he’ll need stereotactic radiosurgery or a second-line targeted therapy, but for now things are stable.
“The good news is that I’m still feeling strong physically and mentally, and I’ve now been on the same targeted therapy for nearly five years.”
He and his wife have also taken up something new. Neither of them learnt to swim as children, so they’ve started adult swimming lessons together.
“It’s been fun, a bit challenging, and a reminder that life doesn’t stop with a diagnosis.”