Healthy Nonsmoker Diagnosed with Lung Cancer at 36: A Surprising Twist

In November 2025, Christy Houvouras, a 36-year-old mother of two from Huntington, West Virginia, was diagnosed with lung cancer, a surprising development given her healthy lifestyle. Houvouras exercises daily, eats right, and has smoked fewer than 20 cigarettes in her lifetime, making her diagnosis "really unfair" in her own words.

Lung cancer is typically associated with older patients, especially men who have smoked. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that up to 20% of new lung cancer diagnoses are now in people who have never smoked, with a majority of these cases occurring in women. Experts attribute this trend to factors like radon exposure, air pollution, and genetic mutations.

Houvouras suspects she was exposed to high radon levels in her childhood home in Greenville, South Carolina, an area the EPA has designated as having the potential for elevated indoor radon. Fortunately, her cancer was caught early at stage 1, allowing her to undergo successful surgery to remove the tumor and 20% of her lung without needing further treatment like chemotherapy.

Despite her diagnosis, Houvouras considers herself lucky. Many lung cancer patients are not as fortunate, as the disease is often detected at later, less treatable stages. Cancer experts emphasize the importance of being aware of lung cancer symptoms and advocating for oneself, as Houvouras did, to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment.