A mild symptom was bothering him. Doctors found Stage IV lung cancer.

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Endurance jock Kevin Humphrey was utilized to discomfort. He regularly participated successful ultramarathons and different aggravated events. Swimming, biking and moving dozens of miles astatine a clip was modular for him. His 2 young sons besides kept him progressive adjacent erstwhile helium wasn't training. But successful January 2024, a persistent backmost symptom kept bothering him.

The symptom "just would not spell away," Humphrey said. He couldn't slumber connected his back. At the aforesaid time, helium started coughing. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, but his symptoms lingered adjacent aft treatment. A thorax CT scan recovered "something going on" successful his near lung. A biopsy of the organ came backmost inconclusive, Humphrey said, but helium kept pushing for answers.

"I knew thing was off. It conscionable didn't consciousness right," Humphrey said.

Humphrey traveled from Michigan to Chicago to question a 2nd sentiment astatine Northwestern Medicine successful May 2024. A bronchoscopy recovered shocking results: There was a tumor successful his lung that was crushing the near broadside of his windpipe, causing the coughing and pain.

"I was truly successful disbelief," said Humphrey, who had ne'er smoked and had nary household past of lung cancer. "It wasn't adjacent connected my radar arsenic a possibility. It wasn't adjacent an enactment successful my mind."

"A precise concerning and dire situation"

Humphrey was diagnosed with Stage IV non-small compartment adenocarcinoma, joining the increasing fig of young, non-smoking patients diagnosed with lung cancer. The emergence whitethorn beryllium driven by environmental oregon manner factors, Dr. Jonathan Villena-Vargas, a thoracic surgeon astatine NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, previously told CBS News. Villena-Vargas, who did not dainty Humphrey, said determination is nary definitive crushed for the increase.

Further tests recovered that the crab had dispersed beyond Humphrey's lung and had apt been increasing for astatine slightest a year, Humphrey said. The illness typically has a 37% 5-year endurance complaint astatine that point, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Humphrey's tumor was "pretty advanced" and excessively ample for country astatine first, said Dr. Daniel Dammrich, the Northwestern Medicine oncologist who treated him. But doctors were capable to place a "driver mutation" that was encouraging the cancer's growth. These mutations are much communal successful young, non-smoking patients, Villena-Vargas said.

Identifying the mutation "really opened the doorway for immoderate of our much nuanced, targeted therapies," Dammrich said, and "turned a precise concerning and dire concern into a overmuch much optimistic one."

Dammrich and Humphrey agreed connected an assertive program that would harvester targeted immunotherapy with chemotherapy, successful the hopes that the medications would shrink the tumor capable for surgery. Humphrey began immunotherapy immediately, past had chemotherapy successful summertime 2024. By August, the crab was operable.

"The biggest question mark"

Removing the crab meant taking retired astir fractional of Humphrey's near lung. The jock wasn't definite what that would mean for his passion.

"You conscionable had nary idea. Can you tally again, tin you bike, tin you bash each these endurance sports that I've loved doing?" Humphrey said. "That was the biggest question people going into surgery."

Despite the unknowns, helium focused connected the future. Michigan's Ironman 70.3 contention — which included a 1-mile swim, 56.1-mile motorcycle thrust and a 13.2 mile tally — was scheduled to instrumentality spot a twelvemonth and a time aft his surgery. Humphrey decided to motion up, contempt his fears.

Humphrey had country successful mid-September. The cognition removed astir of the cancer, Dammrich said. Recovery was its ain battle. Broken ribs and a "pretty big" incision made it hard for Humphrey to bash elemental tasks similar get retired of furniture oregon locomotion much than a fewer steps. Running was retired of the question for months. But helium kept putting 1 ft successful beforehand of the different until his spot and endurance began to dilatory return. Even connected the hardest days, the upcoming contention kept him motivated.

"It was a large intelligence happening to enactment connected the calendar and bid for," Humphrey said.

"Across the decorativeness line"

On Sept. 14, Humphrey was 1 of implicit 1,600 athletes who took portion successful the Ironman. He finished successful conscionable nether 5 and a fractional hours, coming successful 411th place. The contention was exhausting and emotional, Humphrey said.

"You're replaying everything that's happened implicit the past twelvemonth and the whirlwind it's been," Humphrey said. "For me, erstwhile I got to the constituent of knowing 'I'm going to decorativeness this race' and reasoning astir my young boys, my wife, the household and the assemblage and enactment strategy we've had passim the full year, and however grateful I americium to not lone beryllium present but to proceed to bash these types of races and events. I surely did not deliberation that was going to beryllium the lawsuit erstwhile I received the diagnosis successful May of '24."

Humphrey's aesculapian concern is besides positive. He had a implicit effect to the treatment, and determination is presently nary grounds of illness successful his body, Dammrich said. Regular CT scans and humor tests ticker for immoderate caller tumor growth. Humphrey remains connected immunotherapy with fewer broadside effects.

On Oct. 12, little than a period aft the Ironman, Humphrey ran the Chicago marathon for the sixth time. Over 53,000 runners participated successful the race. Humphrey placed 25,395th, finishing successful astir 7 and a fractional hours. It was "40 oregon 45 minutes slower" than erstwhile helium ran the aforesaid contention successful 2023, Humphrey said, but helium was arrogant to person finished.

"My extremity was conscionable to get crossed the decorativeness line, and that's what we did," Humphrey said. "I was conscionable grateful for the quality to beryllium retired determination and to tally and beryllium doing the things that I've loved doing for specified a agelong time."