By: Madison Moury, 25, Carcinoid Tumor
It all started off when I randomly had a hard time breathing back in August 2024. I went to my primary care doctor and she said it was some form of asthma and gave me an albuterol inhaler. After a few months we realized I wasn’t getting better, but I was getting even worse. I was then given a Symbicort inhaler as well as montelukast. Neither of these inhalers or medications had worked either.
Fast forward to February 2026 I had gotten an extreme case of strep where I had to go to the doctor twice in 3 weeks. I finally caved and went to the ER because after almost a month I still hadn’t gotten better. While in the ER they did a CT scan to see what’s wrong and they found out that I had a collapsed lung and obstructive pneumonia. They also found a mass.
I was then transported from my local ER to a hospital in Boston and while I was there I got procedures done there called a bronchoscopy and biopsy. They found that I had a really rare type of cancer called Carcinoid Cancer. Carcinoid cancer is rarely found in young adults. It’s usually found in the lung or gastrointestinal tract of people who are 55 years old or older. Mine was found in my right lung. After that procedure I went home.
A few days later a surgeon reached out to say that I needed to get a lobectomy, where they remove the entire right upper lobe of my lung. Since the mass was also on my main airway, they had to remove a portion of the airway and reconstruct my lung and airway back together. The surgery was successful and I am still in recovery and the majority of the cancer was taken with my lobectomy.
It was truly such a relief to be able to have answers to my breathing issues. I thought genuinely I was going to have a severe breathing issue for the rest of my life. But now I have the answers. Not at all the answer I was expecting but it’s truly nothing more than a relief. And I’m continuing to get better and advocating for people to listen to your body. Even if your doctor says you are perfectly healthy. If something doesn’t feel right you have to advocate for your health.
This journey has had so many highs and so many lows. I never thought there would be a time in my life that I would be getting diagnosed with such a rare cancer, but especially not at 25. It truly is such a major life adjustment. I definitely have a different outlook on life now. I can’t let things I cannot control take control of my life and mental health. As I continue to grow and move forward, I do feel as if this will shape me to be a less anxious person.
But I will not allow my diagnosis to define me. I am me. I am not my cancer.