One Scan Saved My Life

A powerful call to reform how we screen for the deadliest cancer, proving that early detection can save lives long before symptoms begin. She was forty-four, the picture of health — a devoted mother of four, a daily runner, a kale enthusiast who never smoked a day in her life. But when she signed up for a routine health scan “just to be safe,” she discovered the unthinkable: fast-growing stage I lung cancer. In her searing and hopeful memoir, Shira Boehler tells the story of how one moment upended everything — and how it may have saved her life. As she navigates surgery, recovery, and the emotional aftershocks of a diagnosis that “shouldn’t” have happened, she uncovers a staggering truth: by the time most lung cancers are found, it’s too late — not because we can’t detect them earlier, but because our health system doesn’t. Part personal journey, part urgent call to action, One Scan Saved My Life shines a light on the silent epidemic affecting millions of Americans — including nonsmokers, women, and young adults — who are excluded from current screening guidelines. With clarity and conviction and backed by the input of medical and policy experts, Shira makes a powerful case for expanding early-detection policies and rethinking how we define “risk.” A story of resilience and the power of speaking up, One Scan Saved My Life asks one simple question that could change everything: What if prevention didn’t come too late?