Patient Stories | UC Davis Health

Elizabeth's Story

Consider Elizabeth Lacasia, among many others, who received effective treatment at the cancer center, resulting in long-term remission lasting more than a decade. After Bay Area doctors initially thought that her symptoms were due to acid reflux disease or allergies because she had never smoked, she finally was diagnosed with bronchioalveolar carcinoma, for which two surgeries at Bay Area facilities were ineffective. Her cancer continued to spread until she came under the care of UC Davis oncologist David Gandara, a leading lung cancer expert.

He enrolled the young woman in a clinical trial involving a kinase inhibitor, a type of drug that blocks an abnormal protein that triggers cancer cells to multiply. Suppression of that protein brought Elizabeth’s cancer under control, as she achieved “no evidence of disease” status on her targeted cancer therapy. She remained under Gandara’s care, as she resumed her normal activities, including downhill skiing with her husband.

“I’m very fortunate to still be here. I’m stable, and there’s no evidence of disease on my scans. I have active disease and will be on treatment for the rest of my life. But when people see me they have no idea I have cancer, and that’s how I like it,” she said. “I think the world of the cancer center — it’s a wonderful institution.”