At 33 years old, Katie Hulan never expected that a cough would turn into a cancer diagnosis.
She did not smoke, had no risk factors or family history of cancer, and maintained a healthy lifestyle.
“I was coughing so much it was disrupting my sleep, my job,” Hulan said.
“We went in for an X-ray and found a mass in my lung. I came back for more testing, found it had spread to my brain and liver. At that point, it was stage 4.”
She went through rounds of radiation to make her pain more manageable.
Then, genome-based testing revealed she was eligible for a targeted therapy that was far less invasive and could be taken at home.
That therapy turned out to be life-changing. She went from being told she had just a few months to live to being able to return to a normal life.
Now she is using her story to advocate for better access to testing and targeted therapy.
“For me, it’s important that no matter where you are in Canada, you get the care you need immediately.”
Hulan’s work on addressing gaps in cancer care is being recognized by a major pharmaceutical company.
“There’s a lot of amazing pathologists out there doing important work, but we’re not structured the same across the country,” said Stephanie St. Jean, oncology medical lead for Pfizer Canada.
“Some tests that should be reflex are not consistently being offered to all patients.”
While there is no cure for Hulan’s cancer, therapy has extended and improved her life, and she has been able to tick off things from her to-do list, like moving to Victoria and marrying her partner.
She has some advice for other patients who have received a life-changing diagnosis: research all your options, and fight for the care you need.