Heather Quintana Suchan’s Lung Cancer Journey

Heather Quintana Suchan, a mother of two boys under six, initially brushed off her persistent cough throughout 2023 as something her kids must have brought home from school. After all, kids and their germy antics go hand in hand, right?

At work, she had another excuse ready. Moving to a new office with different lighting and perhaps a smaller computer monitor had caused her sensitivity to light and some vision changes. However, come December, the cough became more alarming—mostly, it sounded wet, which triggered a thought that maybe this was something serious. “I had pneumonia,” flashed through her mind.

In February 2024, after seeing urgent care doctors who noted lung congestion on her X-rays, she was put on antibiotics. When her condition didn’t improve after a few days, she was advised to consult a pulmonologist.

After examination, the pulmonologist suggested it might be Valley fever or a fungal infection.

“No one seemed particularly worried about anything severe,” Suchan, now 41, recalls. “They also offered me another set of antibiotics.” Yet, when she pushed for clarity on her lungs, they suggested a bronchoscopy. Tired of uncertainties, she opted for the procedure to get a detailed look inside her lungs.

Before being sedated, she made one request: if there was cancer, she wanted to know right away. It turned out, unfortunately, that there was.

A New Plan

Suchan was otherwise young and healthy, which provided some glimmer of hope according to her doctors. They assured her that her newly diagnosed lung cancer could be managed with surgery. “I was fairly optimistic at that stage,” she says, “I thought maybe it wouldn’t be that serious.”

A few Sundays later, she checked her PET scan results alone at home. To her shock, it indicated cancer not only in her lungs but also in the lymph nodes, liver, and bones. “I couldn’t believe the enormity of the news,” she recalls.

She attempted to reach her oncologist through the emergency line but hit a roadblock; the doctor wasn’t available. Come Monday, she discovered he would be on vacation for two weeks.

Frustrated but resolute, she sought out alternatives. With some help from friends and her work network, she got connected to Dr. Ravi Salgia at City of Hope in Los Angeles. “I’ve been under his care ever since, and it’s been fantastic,” Suchan says.

‘But I’m Young’

The profile of lung cancer patients is shifting. It’s not just a smoker’s disease, nor does it solely afflict older people. Suchan, in her 30s and a non-smoker, found herself facing Stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer. And she’s not alone in this demographic.

Although steering clear of tobacco remains crucial, about 20% of lung cancer victims have never smoked, as noted by the American Cancer Society. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, according to the National Institutes of Health. Interestingly, women younger than 54 are being diagnosed more frequently than their male counterparts, the American Cancer Society points out.

Current screening guidelines, however, haven’t caught up with these statistics. They recommend annual screenings only for individuals aged 50-80 who have either smoked a pack a day for two decades or have quit within the last 15 years—neither of which applies to Suchan. Dr. Salgia mentions that more lung cancer patients don’t fit these traditional criteria.

He emphasizes the importance of treating each person as an individual and not just another statistic.

A Treatment Change

Decisions about her treatment were ultimately hers to make. “My medical team told me, ‘We’ll drive as hard as you want to drive.’ I said I wanted to go full throttle. I have a family, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get through this,” Suchan asserts.

They addressed her situation aggressively.

Her treatment plan was multi-faceted. It started with six rounds of carboplatin, a type of chemotherapy, administered every four weeks. Then she moved on to pemetrexed and later added amivantamab, a targeted IV therapy.

For a year and a half, she dedicated full days to treatment, often rushing to pick up her kids from school or aftercare. “I sometimes arrived just in time, and it was stressful,” she remembers.

Then, the FDA approved a subcutaneous version of amivantamab, allowing her to receive treatment in just an hour or two. “City of Hope got that set up for me really quickly, and it made a huge difference. I experienced fewer side effects,” she notes, appreciating the improvement in her quality of life. Now, she can pick up her kids and maintain a sense of normalcy. “Sometimes they don’t even realize I’ve been at the hospital,” she adds.

Though she’s still undergoing treatment, as of now, there’s no evidence of cancer progression. “Some of my scans show the cancer in my liver and bones is completely gone,” Suchan explains.

Returning to Work

As soon as she could, Suchan returned to her job as a merchandise designer at Universal Music Group, creating products for artists like Billie Eilish and Blink-182.

After taking six months off for her treatment, she wanted to reengage fully, stating, “I didn’t want cancer to define me. I wanted to get back to my passion.” She felt reassured knowing she would be surrounded by compassionate coworkers.

“I know this sounds odd, but it felt like I attended my own funeral when people learned of my Stage 4 cancer,” Suchan reflects. Friends reached out, expressing love and support. “But then I survived, and I got to hear all the kind words,” she adds.

With a strong emotional reiteration, she declares, “I returned feeling incredibly loved. I’m still here, and I don’t intend to go anywhere.”