Young, fit non-smoker had lung cancer: Why screening can miss patients

Rasika Bombatkar addressing the cancer conference. (Source: Express Photo)

7 min readHong KongSep 26, 2026 07:37 AM IST First published on: Sep 26, 2026 at 07:31 AM IST

When Rasika Bombatkar developed a persistent cough during the monsoon season four years ago, doctors initially saw little reason for concern. She was young, a non-smoker and, therefore, did not fit the conventional profile of a lung cancer patient. Two weeks later, still coughing, she sought help again — this time prompted by an awareness campaign featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan that urged people to get tested for tuberculosis (TB) if a cough persisted. Two months after her symptoms began, doctors finally diagnosed what had been missed: late-stage lung cancer.

“I was diagnosed only after I insisted that I get a CT scan, even though the doctors kept telling me about the side effects of getting unnecessary scans. I was lucky to be an allied health professional. I could do the research on my own, I could insist on the test at the hospital I worked at,” says Bombatkar, who was then working as a physiotherapist at Christian Medical College, Vellore. Once doctors saw the CT scan she had insisted on, the picture changed. The cancer had already spread from her lungs to her lymph nodes. A lymph-node sample confirmed the diagnosis.