Heidi Queen: Persevering With Metastatic Lung Cancer

Diagnosed with lung cancer that spread to her brain, Heidi was determined to fight despite her poor prognosis.

It was January 7, 2017, and I had been very sick for a while, with “migraines” according to doctors. I knew it wasn’t that, but I was too sick to bother.

That was the day my husband carried me to the car, took me to the ER, and he told the staff that I was so sick, they needed to do a CT scan. Then, bam! “You have a massive tumor in your brain, and we need to get you to Rhode Island Hospital.”

I was in the ICU for four days. Once I was in a room, I was told I had only 3 to 6 months to live! I thought in my head that I would fight but said nothing. My family was so sad, and they cried. Several more tests were done, which showed I had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to my brain. It was not curable but was treatable. I thanked God. I was always positive because I knew God would take care of me. I fought and fought and never thought, “Why me?” Instead, I thought, “Try me!” It was a long recovery, with a lot of throwing up and severe pain. But I fought through every pain and treatment, knowing I wouldn’t die.

Here I am now, five years later. It’s all about never giving up and by telling my story, I hope to have inspired others to keep fighting and not let cancer consume you. ❤️

Whether you’re a patient, survivor, caregiver, or a loved one touched by cancer, your story can have an enormous impact. You can provide hope and inspiration to someone recently diagnosed with cancer or a patient undergoing therapy.