Former 28-year-old athlete has lung cancer despite not smoking

Stephen Huff plays professional baseball, runs 10km a day, is in his youthful youth, he discovered stage 4 lung cancer.

Since childhood, Stephen Huff, a Tennessee, USA, has been involved in baseball. He won the Austin Peay University scholarship and played for the school team, then got into the Chicago White Sox. For everyone around him, Huff is the model of a healthy lifestyle.

"Playing sports from a young age and becoming a professional athlete makes me interested in training and body care . " Huff told Men's Health. "I practiced every day, running continuously for 5-8 miles. I took great care of what I ate and drank. I always tried to use organic food. Even the most popular medicine did not dare to drink." .

Huff while playing baseball.(Photo: MH).

After a few years of playing and trying to play a coaching role, Huff learned to get a degree in computing. after a year, the young man noticed unusual signs.

"I have vague symptoms, I feel indigestion and heartburn , " Huff recalls. "By the end of 2016 and early 2017, I had a persistent cough, wheezing."

On examination, Huff knew that lymph nodes in his neck were swollen larger than usual. However, doctors believe it is just bronchitis and prescribe antibiotics.

A few weeks passed, Huff was still not better. He made an appointment with an ear, nose and throat doctor and went for a CT scan."I knew something was wrong when I got the phone, just 30 minutes after leaving the screening center , " Huff said.

On June 1, 2017, Huff was confirmed to have no stage IV small cell . The disease has spread to the lymph nodes, chest, a small part of the liver and spinal cord near coccyx. Doctors identify former athletes' chances of surviving five years less than 5%.

"I feel like I just received a death sentence," Huff said. "At that time, I was newly engaged. My unmarried wife Emily and I just bought our first home, we planned to get married in three months. The cancer is not in the plan."

The first two weeks of diagnosis, Huff lost insomnia. He lost nearly 10kg.

In fact, you can get lung cancer even if you never smoke. Tobacco is the leading risk factor for lung cancer but not the only cause.

"About 10-25% of lung cancer patients in the world do not smoke," said Dr Roy S. Herbst from Yale Cancer Center. " Exposure to radon is also a major cause of lung cancer , behind 10% of cases. Passive smoking and exposure to toxins from polluted air or industrial zones also brings risks." Besides, 9-14% of lung cancer patients are less than 50 years old.

Luckily, Huff's cancer can be treated with targeted therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He had to take the medicine twice a day, four capsules at a time, but did not experience severe side effects like radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Huff with his wife.(Photo: MH).

Huff treated 16 months. Some tumors are completely lost and the main tumor on the bronchus is 60% smaller.

To help the community raise awareness about lung cancer, Huff and his wife set up a non-profit project and traveled around sharing knowledge about the disease."My message is that if it happens to me, it can happen to you , " Huff said.