Triathlete Beats Stage 4 Lung Cancer by 5 Years

A trip to the optometrist in 2019 saved Dave Nitsche's life in the most unexpected way.

The 57-year-old former Ironman triathlete thought he had a detached retina when his left eye started having problems. After scans revealed fluid buildup and doctors removed the eye, a biopsy delivered shocking news: the fluid was cancerous.

Further testing revealed stage 4 lung cancer. Nitsche, a non-smoker who was actively running and training, had experienced no symptoms beyond minor back pain.

"Doctors gave me a year to two years and told me to get my affairs in order," Nitsche told Fox News Digital. "It's been seven years now."

His survival story centers on the rapid advancement of targeted cancer therapies. He started with afatinib, then moved to Tagrisso when cancer spread to his brain. After six years, when those medications stopped working, he began receiving Rybrevant, a newer drug administered via IV infusion every three weeks.

Dr. Azam Farooqui, a hematology and oncology physician in Arizona who did not treat Nitsche, called the eye metastasis "very, very rare." Cancer reaching the eye through nerve channels or blood vessels is extremely uncommon, he explained.

After a year on Rybrevant, developed by Johnson & Johnson, Nitsche's scans look "very, very good." The drug causes some skin irritation and fingernail infections, but he calls it "very tolerable" compared to traditional chemotherapy.

Why This Inspires

Nitsche credits his high fitness level with helping extend his survival, though the real game changer has been scientific progress. "Science is catching up to me perfectly with all these drugs that I'm on," he said.

He hasn't slowed down much either. This June, Nitsche plans to complete a 600-mile biking expedition to raise lung cancer awareness.

His message to others facing cancer diagnoses offers real hope: "If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer, but at this point, for almost any type of cancer, a diagnosis is not a death sentence."

Several of his friends are now taking the same medication that's keeping him alive. Rybrevant has been approved to treat certain types of non-small cell lung cancer in the U.S. and Canada, giving more patients access to the treatment that's given Nitsche five extra years and counting.

"There are days that you feel strong and there are days that you're a little weaker, but you just adjust accordingly," he said.