KSDK: Lung Cancer’s Surprising New Face: Younger, Female, and Never Smoked a Day in Their Life

Laura Hamann was just 41 years old when she was diagnosed with stage III lung cancer, despite being a nonsmoker.

1 minute

In 2014, Laura Hamann, a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, was 41 years old and excited to be pregnant with her second child. Then she was diagnosed with stage III lung cancer, despite being a non-smoker. She was given a 30% survival rate.

KSDK spoke with Dr. Paul Mehan, a medical oncologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, and Laura about her journey and the misconception that lung cancer is solely a smoker's disease.

Dr. Mehan discusses the risk non-smoking women face when it comes to lung cancer, the challenge of a difficult diagnosis, and the rapidly evolving medical landscape.