Ask About New Lung Cancer Treatments

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As a nurse at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers, Tracy Hanson Costello didn't think she would be a small cell lung cancer patient. At the time, she was 47 years old, young for a small cell diagnosis. According to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA), generally, those most at risk of small cell lung cancer are between the ages of 50 and 80 years of age.

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"I had started having symptoms, some shortness of breath," she says. "I exercise pretty regularly, so that was unusual for me.I really didn't have anything else. No temperature. I didn't have a cough. No fatigue, It was really just shortness of breath on exertion."

"Screening can capture disease in an earlier stage where chances for cure are higher. For an aggressive disease like small cell, earlier detection could lead to better outcomes," says Dr. Hossein Borghaei,hematology/oncology department interim chair and professor of thoracic oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

Tracy's first diagnosis was pneumonia treated with antibiotics. When that didn't help, doctors ordered a CAT scan and thought, perhaps, Tracy had an infection or lymphoma. Several weeks later, a bronchoscopy revealed a mass inside the upper right lobe of Tracy's lung. In May of 2024, Tracy was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer.

"I wasn't even thinking about cancer. It wasn't on my radar. It was shocking for sure," Tracy says. "And then to find out that it was small cell because a lot of things you read about lung cancer, it's people in their 70s or 80s. It's not people in their 30s or 40s getting it. And a lot of medical providers don't even have this information."

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the United States. In 2025, it caused more deaths than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers combined. Annual screening is recommended for people who are 50 to 80 years old and have a 20-pack-a-year or more smoking history.

Tracy says that even those who don't fit the screening criteria should be proactive about any symptoms.

"If it's something that's persistent and it's outside your usual state of health, definitely get it checked," Tracy says.

Not only did she have to fight for an accurate diagnosis, Tracy says she had to battle misinformation. A cardiothoracic doctor initially diagnosed her cancer.

"He said unfortunately, with small cell, there's been no progress made in 40 years, and your best bet is to try and get into chemotherapy as soon as possible to maybe possibly extend your life," says Tracy.

But there has been progress. The pace of research moves so fast it's difficult to keep track of all the developments.

"It's not an automatic hospice diagnosis," says Dr. Jeffrey Ward, thoracic medical oncologist and associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. "I have more patients living longer and living well than ever before. Things have changed really, really fast."

Oncologists and patient advocates say it's important to ask what new, innovative treatments are available. According to the LCFA, recent advances in innovative treatments for small cell lung cancer can lead to both a longer and better quality of life.

"It was really emotional the first year," says Tracy. "I had a lot of anger. I got a lot of misinformation. When you're looking at statistics online, you're looking at old statistics, older information. And so that's not reflecting all the progress that's been made in just the past five years even. So there is hope for people."

Tracy received the traditional treatment of chemotherapy and radiation. LCFA lays out ways patients can develop a treatment plan in collaboration with medical teams. Sometimes that can include clinical trials, which can lead to new, FDA-approved treatments.

Tracy joined online communities for small cell lung cancer and found an oncologist who encouraged innovative treatment.

"I think a lot of people aren't aware of how many different treatment options there are right now for small cell if you're not in the small cell community," Tracy says. "With my second oncologist and my oncologist now, they're more focused on possibly being cured."

For a year, Tracy received BiTE therapy, bispecific T-cell engager drugs for small-cell treatment. In 2025, the FDA fully approved BiTE therapy after clinical trials. It harnesses the body's immune system to attack cancer. It is a form of immunotherapy that involves specific T-cells that grab the tumor cells, grab the immune cells, and bring them together to create an immune response.

Tracy's advice to patients: "If you don't get an answer that you feel comfortable with, then you need to push it further," she says.

It's been two years since her diagnosis.

"I got treatment," she says. "There's no sign of active cancer anywhere else in my body. Hopefully, it stays that way. So there is a lot more hope."

For more information, visit Lung Cancer Foundation of America's website https://lcfamerica.org/

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