Kimberly Thorp’s daughter was 2 years old when Kimberly was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. Today, she is 6. For Kimberly, those four years represent far more than a measure of survival. They are birthdays, school milestones, family trips and ordinary days together — time made possible by cancer research, targeted therapy and a physician who refused to stop looking for the best path forward.

That experience is why Kimberly and her husband, Dan, have supported the UC Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge for four years. For two of those years, their philanthropy has fully funded research led by Kimberly’s oncologist, Dr. Misako Nagasaka. Their goal now is to help create for other families the possibilities that research created for theirs.

“UCI has given so much to us that we want to pay it forward and give others hope,” Dan says. “UCI is committed to beating cancer, not just treating it. They are in it to win it.”
 

A diagnosis no one expected

Kimberly had always considered herself healthy. She exercised regularly, never smoked and was careful about what she ate. She and Dan split their time between Henderson, Nevada, and Park City, Utah, enjoying an active family life with their young daughter.

In the summer of 2022, after becoming seriously ill following a family trip, Kimberly went to an emergency room in Utah. Imaging revealed large amounts of fluid around her lung and heart. More than a liter of pericardial fluid was drained, and cancer cells were found in the fluid.
Further imaging showed a 4.8-by-2.3-centimeter mass in the lower lobe of her left lung. Kimberly was diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.

“I didn’t even know how to process this,” Kimberly remembers. “There’s a lot of misconception and negativity associated with people who have lung cancer.”

Kimberly and Dan immediately began seeking expert opinions. An early consultation left them feeling that her future had already been decided. A friend then helped Kimberly secure an appointment at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. By the time Kimberly and Dan arrived, she was so weak that she needed a wheelchair to get through the airport.

Finding an advocate

At UCI Health, Kimberly met Dr. Misako Nagasaka. The tone was immediately different. Nagasaka focused not only on the seriousness of the diagnosis, but on understanding the biology driving Kimberly’s cancer and identifying the treatment most likely to work.

“Having cancer is stressful enough,” Kimberly says. “It means everything to have somebody be your advocate, helping you navigate things, laying out the options — and never treating you like you’re death walking, or just another number.”

Molecular testing identified an EML4-ALK fusion, a genetic alteration that can drive a subset of non-small cell lung cancers. That discovery opened the door to highly effective targeted therapies — but also presented Kimberly and Dan with one of the most difficult decisions of her treatment.

One expert strongly recommended alectinib, an established first-line ALK therapy. Nagasaka recommended lorlatinib, a newer-generation ALK inhibitor whose use as an initial treatment was still relatively new. With respected physicians recommending different approaches, Kimberly and Dan were deeply conflicted about which treatment to choose and how that first decision might affect future options.
Rather than simply asking Kimberly to accept her recommendation, Nagasaka helped her seek additional expertise. Kimberly and Dan traveled to Nashville to consult with Dr. Christine Lovly, a physician-scientist internationally recognized for her work in ALK-positive lung cancer.

For Kimberly, that experience came to define Nagasaka’s approach to her care. Her priority was not keeping every aspect of treatment within one institution. She sought the best information and the right expertise wherever it could be found, then helped Kimberly and Dan understand their options and make decisions with confidence.
 

A spectacular response

Kimberly ultimately chose lorlatinib and began treatment at 100 milligrams on Aug. 5, 2022. The response was rapid. At her two-month PET scan on Oct. 5, Nagasaka documented an “excellent response,” estimating approximately a 75% reduction. By December, her scans were again described as excellent, and UCI’s multidisciplinary tumor board characterized her response as “spectacular.”
The magnitude of Kimberly’s response opened a treatment possibility rarely considered in stage IV lung cancer: treating the remaining primary lung tumor locally.

Again, Nagasaka looked beyond institutional boundaries. She coordinated multidisciplinary opinions, evaluated surgery, radiation and ablation, and helped identify a thoracic surgeon with experience in unusual cases like Kimberly’s.

Kimberly ultimately chose surgery. On Feb. 22, 2023, she underwent a left lower lobectomy. The pathology showed a complete response — no viable cancer remained in the resected lung tissue.

Later in 2023, an enlarging lesion in the right parietal skull was treated with a five-day course of focused radiation. Kimberly continued targeted therapy and close surveillance. Follow-up imaging showed stability and no new lesions concerning for progression.
Lorlatinib has required ongoing management, including dose adjustments to balance side effects with quality of life. Through it all, Nagasaka has continued to coordinate Kimberly’s care and monitor her closely with CT scans and brain MRIs. Years after her diagnosis, imaging continues to show stable disease, and Kimberly remains on targeted therapy.
 

What research gave their family

For Kimberly, research is not an abstract concept. The treatment that changed the course of her disease exists because scientists, physicians, patients, clinical-trial participants and donors invested in understanding the molecular drivers of cancer and developing therapies to target them.

When Kimberly was diagnosed, her daughter was 2. Today, she is 6. The years between contain the life Kimberly was terrified she might miss.
That perspective has transformed gratitude into action. Kimberly and Dan have supported the UC Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge for four years, helping fund cancer research at UCI. For two of those years, their philanthropy has fully funded research led by Nagasaka — giving investigators the resources to pursue ideas that may ultimately change what is possible for another patient.

“Other people gave their time and resources and participated in clinical trials so that treatments like mine could exist,” Kimberly says. “Research gave me time with my daughter. Supporting research is our way of helping give that possibility to someone else.”
 

Paying it forward at the Anti-Cancer Challenge

On Oct. 10, Kimberly and Nagasaka will be honored at the 10th annual UC Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge. Kimberly’s family and friends will join them at Aldrich Park to celebrate how far she has come — and, more importantly, to raise funds for the research that can move cancer treatment forward.

The Anti-Cancer Challenge turns participation and philanthropy into research funding. For the Thorps, that mission is deeply personal: today’s experimental idea can become tomorrow’s treatment option.

“I am so blessed and so grateful to Dr. Nagasaka and the entire team at UCI Health,” Kimberly says. “We’ve gotten to know the doctors and see them in action, and we know their hearts are in it. This is about helping and saving others, like they’ve done for me.”