Liz was diagnosed with stage 4 non small cell lung cancer in 2014. She was not a smoker. She ran a half marathon the year before. Her only symptom was a nagging cough for three months.
After a week of multiple tests, she started having difficulty breathing. Less than a week later, she had emergency heart surgery due to fluid from her lung accumulating around her heart. She spent seven days in a drug-induced coma. The doctors told Liz’s family she had weeks to months to live. 
Liz then went to MD Anderson in Phoenix. The lung oncologist told us she was too young and previously healthy not to fight this. The plan was chemo every three weeks. The next morning, Liz had a stroke, partially paralyzing the right side of her body (May 2014). She was finally able to start chemo in June 2014. In August 2014, she had a massive blood clot that required surgeries to open up the clot and put in a filter to prevent clots from going to her heart and lungs.

By the end of 2014, Liz had nearly fully recovered from her stroke. Liz continued chemo until November 2016. She had very few symptoms with chemo and was able to stop treatment due to her lung cancer being stable.
In January 2017, Liz’s CT scan showed an enlarged lymph node in her left arm pit. A biopsy and MRI were ordered. The MRI shockingly showed brain metastasis. Doctors were astonished she had no symptoms. Liz had emergency brain surgery to remove the largest tumor near the front left side of her brain.
Two weeks later, she had 10 days of whole-brain radiation. Before she lost her hair due to radiation, Liz shaved her beautiful thick head of hair and donated it to wigs for kids. Genetic testing was done on her lymph node biopsy and determined she had markers that allow her cancer to be treated with a drug that has been on the market less than six months. The drug allows her immune system to fight the cancer. She had her first treatment in March and will have infusion every three weeks.

Liz, a wife and a mom to two young children, continues to bravely fight her battle with cancer. Damon and her husband Steve were high school friends, so Damon’s Rally Cap was honored to offer this family support.

Sadly, Liz lost her battle to cancer on April 20, 2018.