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Woman's Lung Cancer Mistaken for Asthma

By Ashley Neglia, Associate Editor at AOL Health

If it weren't for her father Laura Hicks, 20, might not be alive today.

In 2006, Hicks developed a persistent cough and began to have trouble catching her breath. After being diagnosed with asthma, she was sent home from the doctor's office with only antibiotics in tow, reports the Daily Mail. Her father, Stan Hicks, who was familiar with these symptoms from his work in Britain as an osteopath, didn't believe the doctors had made the right diagnosis, so he sent his daughter back to the office with a letter insisting that she receive an X-ray.

The results were startling. Hicks had lung cancer. What's more, two-thirds of her right lung was being overtaken by a tumor. Typically, early stages of lung cancer don't cause any symptoms. However, in an advanced stage such as Hicks', it can cause coughing, wheezing, feeling short of breath and coughing up blood.

As a result of her diagnosis, Hicks underwent six months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to shrink the tumor, which was then removed along with her lung and two ribs. Thanks to her father's vigilance, she is now cancer-free.

Treatment for lung cancer depends on the type of cancer as well as how much it has spread. Few lung cancers are found in the early stages when treatment is most effective, and only 15 out of every 100 people diagnosed live for five or more years.