Kathy Johnson

As many of you know, my mom Kathy has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC). Her symptoms began a few weeks ago with a cough and chest pressure so she visited her family doctor who diagnosed her with pneumonia and put her on antibiotics. After about a week of being on the antibiotics, her symptoms did not improve and she continued to get more short of breath. On Tuesday, November 12th she went back to the doctor who did a CAT scan of her chest and found a “clump of swollen lymph nodes” in her chest. She was then referred to Abbott Northwestern. On Tuesday November 19 we made the trip to Minneapolis to meet with a thoracic surgeon and have a PET Scan. The PET scan showed that she has Superior Vena Cava Syndrome (SVC Syndrome). This means that her tumor is compressing her superior vena cava which is the main vein that returns the blood to the heart from the head, neck, and arms. This can be very dangerous so she was admitted to the hospital. Since then we have learned that the cancer has spread to her spine as well. We have been meeting with many doctors and specialists to get a plan in place. Sounds like she will require an extensive regimen of chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. She is in good spirits and is ready to get this over with and get back to work.