喵咪社区

After Dionne Harmon, a nonsmoker and marathon runner, learned she had lung cancer, a 喵咪社区 Norris team used advanced tech and medicine to get her on the path to a speedy recovery.

As a nonsmoker who had completed three marathons by her mid-40s, Dionne Harmon had no reason to be worried about her health.

But in 2023, Dionne, an entertainment executive producer and president of Jesse Collins Entertainment, came across a Kim Kardashian Instagram post about getting a full-body MRI scan, noting the technology had saved some of her friends鈥� lives. Dionne looked into it and found other people had gotten the scan and caught diseases early.

After a few months, in early 2024, Dionne and her fianc茅, Jesse, received whole-body scans. Days later, the company that offers the scans called Dionne with unsettling news: Her scan showed a mass in her lung. Dionne鈥檚 primary care doctor quickly referred her to a pulmonologist, who ordered an X-ray that confirmed the presence of a mass.

鈥淎t this point, the C word is starting to come up,鈥� recalls Dionne, 47.

The pulmonologist then ordered a CT scan that showed the mass was sizable and active, and that it had to come out. Dionne received a referral to Graeme Rosenberg, MD, a thoracic surgeon with 喵咪社区 Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of 喵咪社区.

Dr. Rosenberg advised Dionne to have a biopsy to determine what the mass was, as well as surgery to remove it. He also emphasized the positive: 鈥淪he had very minimal risk factors. She was a young, active nonsmoker who had a healthy lifestyle.鈥�

The biopsy confirmed the unfortunate results. 鈥淚t was definitely cancer,鈥� Dionne says. Even so, the biopsy and the size of the tumor indicated early-stage cancer.

Quick action from medical team

Dionne remembers how quickly the Keck Medicine team acted. In just a few days, she was in surgery to remove the tumor.

To assist with her procedure, as with most of his thoracic surgeries, Dr. Rosenberg used a state-of-the-art surgical robot. With a camera and four arms that the surgeon controls, the robot allowed the team to avoid opening Dionne鈥檚 chest and instead perform a more precise surgery, shortening the recovery time from months to weeks.

During surgery, however, the surgical team learned that, behind the dominant tumor, there was a smaller tumor that hadn鈥檛 appeared on imaging. The team also found cancer in two of Dionne鈥檚 lymph nodes.

As a result, her diagnosis changed from stage IB cancer (typically confined to a tumor) to stage IIIA (spreading to other parts of the body). 鈥淭his is when the whole team that takes care of lung cancer patients came together,鈥� Dr. Rosenberg says.

At its weekly meeting, Keck Medicine鈥檚 multidisciplinary team of surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and pulmonologists discussed Dionne鈥檚 case and treatment plan. Also, Dionne met with Jorge Nieva, MD, a 喵咪社区 Norris medical oncologist who informed her about stage IIIA lung cancer and the possible treatments.

Fortunately, Dr. Rosenberg had made what Dionne now calls 鈥減robably the best decision ever鈥�: He ordered DNA testing 鈥� specifically, next-generation sequencing 鈥� on a portion of her lung that was removed. This test is performed for almost all 喵咪社区 Norris lung cancer patients to gain more information about the cancer.

The DNA test revealed that Dionne鈥檚 cancer had an EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutation, which is more common in younger nonsmokers with lung cancer. The EGFR mutation meant that Dionne could have a high cure rate without undergoing聽four months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and instead for three years take a personalized medicine that targets the cancer.

While chemo attacks rapidly replicating cells, including but not limited to cancer, targeted drugs aim at the cancer cells directly. If chemo is a carpet bomb, targeted drugs are a heat-seeking missile.

Dionne welcomed this news 鈥� and the testing that made it possible. In her eyes, 鈥渢he DNA test was lifesaving,鈥� she says.

Targeted medicine for lung cancer patients with the EGFR mutation can improve outcomes by about 80%, Dr. Nieva notes. 鈥淭he outlook for many lung cancer patients has really improved because of new technologies and advancements in surgery and in our understanding of the molecular drivers of cancer,鈥� he says.

Hospital stay ends, care continues

Dionne鈥檚 care did not end with the surgery. She praises Dr. Rosenberg, Dr. Nieva and the rest of her Keck Medicine team for communicating with her and supporting her during her recovery.

Even when she played 鈥淒r. Google鈥� and found scary stuff online, Dr. Rosenberg talked her through it, Dionne recalls. 鈥淗e advocated for me every step of the way.鈥�

Dr. Rosenberg takes an engaged approach to patient recovery, he explains. 鈥淧atients want to be active in what they can do after the diagnosis, so I talk with them about nutrition, fitness, psychological health and connections with friends and family,鈥� he says.

For months after Dionne鈥檚 surgery, he says, 鈥淲e worked together really closely to get her back to doing the things she wants to do.鈥�

One thing Dionne definitely wanted to do was run another marathon. In April 2025, about a year after her surgery, she completed the Paris marathon. 鈥淭hat was a really big milestone for me,鈥� she says.

At her 18-month follow-up, all of Dionne鈥檚 scans were clear. She is now in remission, with no measurable cancer, Dr. Nieva says.

鈥淕etting my care at Keck Medicine, having access to the most high-tech equipment and resources, having people who were always forward-thinking and not just checking the boxes 鈥� it was the best possible outcome for the worst situation,鈥� Dionne says.

And she鈥檚 aware that, if she had not gotten that full-body MRI scan, she likely would not have learned of the cancer until many months later, after it had progressed. Stage IV lung cancer can rarely be treated with surgery, and it resists drug therapy.

While a full-body MRI scan can result in false positives and isn鈥檛 cheap, 鈥渋t was definitely a blessing,鈥� she says.

Extending the benefits to others

Now, Dionne wants to share the benefits of her experience with others.

In 2025, she formed the Lung Cancer Awareness Foundation to raise awareness that lung cancer is not just a smoker鈥檚 disease and that nonsmokers can benefit from lung scans to detect disease early.

鈥淭he earlier we find lung cancer, the better the long-term outcomes,鈥� says Dr. Rosenberg, a foundation board member.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy as an adult, with life and work and family, to neglect your health,鈥� says Dionne, noting that she鈥檚 now 鈥渓ess Type A鈥� than she used to be. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that you take care of your body.鈥�

Topics