As an endurance athlete and a non-smoker his whole life, Kirk Smith was shocked by his doctor’s diagnosis: He had stage IIIb lung cancer. Results from a tissue biopsy revealed he was ALK-positive, meaning Kirk had a genetic mutation found in a small number of lung cancer patients. Even more concerning to him was learning that the five-year survival rate is 5%.
That was December 2013.
The targeted therapies used to treat Kirk’s cancer, which were enabled through years of research, have shrunk Kirk’s tumors, cleared his lymph nodes and enabled him to continue to train.
“Cancer therapies have allowed me, and patients like me, to live an active life despite the disease. Research makes a difference. Research saves lives. The reality, in my case, is that I am alive because of it.”