A Son Flew To Shanghai To Buy His Mother’s Lung Cancer Pill, And 19 Months Later Her Cancer Is Still Under Control

When Debbie Doppelt’s lung cancer spread to her brain, her son ran out of options in the U.S. So he got on a plane to China. The drug he brought home in his luggage has kept her cancer largely in check for more than a year and a half, and as of late October 2026, that same pill can finally be bought in the U.S.

Key Takeaways

Max Doppelt, 30, flew to Shanghai and brought home 26 boxes of sunvozertinib, a lung cancer pill made by a Chinese company, for his mother, Debbie, a 60-year-old New York jeweler.
The drug had been approved in China since 2023. The FDA granted it accelerated approval in July 2025, but it wasn’t sold in the U.S. until AstraZeneca announced availability on October 22, 2026.
About 19 months after she started the drug, Debbie’s cancer was still mostly held at bay, with help from radiation and dose adjustments, according to news reports.
The drug targets one specific mutation, called an EGFR exon 20 insertion, which is found in a small share of lung cancers and is more common in people who have never smoked.
Buying medicines abroad carries real risks. The FDA warns about quality and safety concerns, and the drug doesn’t work for everyone.

A race against time

Debbie Doppelt was diagnosed in late 2023 with an uncommon type of lung cancer that mostly affects nonsmokers. In December 2024, scans showed it had spread to her brain, where doctors found about 10 tiny tumors.

Her family hoped she could join a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. But in January 2025, she was ruled ineligible because of scarring in her lungs.

The drug most likely to help her was sunvozertinib, developed by Shanghai-based Dizal Pharmaceutical. A contact obtained a small supply from China to get her started. A few months later, Max, a computer engineer who now runs a company that helps cancer patients find clinical trials, flew to Shanghai himself. He returned with 26 boxes, about a nine-month supply, for roughly $10,000.

About 19 months after she started treatment, her cancer remained largely under control, and she had barely missed a day of work since her diagnosis. Her son has said the drug saved his mother’s life.

He says he knows of at least 30 other Americans who made similar trips.

What sunvozertinib is and who it’s for

Sunvozertinib, sold in the U.S. as Zegfrovy, is a once-daily pill. It blocks a faulty version of a protein called EGFR that drives tumor growth in certain lung cancers.

It’s approved in the U.S. for adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have an EGFR exon 20 insertion mutation, confirmed by an FDA-approved test, and whose cancer has grown during or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

In the main clinical trial:

46% of patients saw their tumors shrink.
Among those who responded, the benefit lasted a median of about 11 months.

Because it was approved through the FDA’s accelerated pathway, the drug’s continued approval depends on further studies confirming its benefit.

Side effects are common. Diarrhea affected about 73% of patients in the trial. Rash, nausea, loss of appetite, mouth sores, fatigue and nail infections were also frequent. Rarer but serious risks include lung inflammation (pneumonitis) and eye problems. The drug can also harm a developing baby.

Why it took so long to reach U.S. patients

Even after FDA approval in July 2025, the drug wasn’t on U.S. pharmacy shelves. In 2026, AstraZeneca agreed to license worldwide rights from Dizal for $600 million upfront, with up to $900 million more depending on milestones. The deal closed on September 1, and AstraZeneca announced the drug was available in the U.S. on October 22, more than 15 months after approval.

AstraZeneca hasn’t widely publicized its U.S. price, but based on what similar targeted lung cancer drugs cost, some estimates put a nine-month supply at $160,000 to $230,000, compared with about $10,000 in China.

The story reflects a larger shift. A study published in JAMA in March 2026 found that China’s share of early-stage drug development worldwide grew from 8% in 2015 to 32% in 2024, while the U.S. share fell from 48% to 37%. More cutting-edge cancer drugs are now being developed and approved in China first.

Should you buy cancer drugs abroad?

It’s understandable that families facing a frightening diagnosis would look anywhere for help. But there are important risks:

Quality and safety aren’t guaranteed. The FDA cautions that drugs bought outside the U.S. regulatory system may be counterfeit, contaminated or stored improperly.
Not every drug works for every patient. One 70-year-old woman who got a six-month supply from China found after three months that it wasn’t working for her.
There are legal limits. The FDA generally allows travelers to bring in no more than a 90-day supply of an unapproved drug for personal use, and only under certain conditions.

If you or a loved one has lung cancer:

Ask about biomarker testing. Testing the tumor for mutations like EGFR, ALK and others can reveal targeted treatments that may work better than standard chemotherapy.
Ask about clinical trials, including ones at major cancer centers. You can search for trials at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Ask about expanded access. Drug companies sometimes provide experimental medicines to patients who have no other options through the FDA’s expanded access program.
Talk to your oncologist before taking any drug from abroad, so they can monitor side effects and check for interactions.

This isn’t a substitute for medical advice. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.

Sources:

Adrienne Erin

Adrienne holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, where she developed a strong foundation in exercise physiology and human nutrition. Before joining DailyHealthPost, she spent several years writing about health and wellness topics, translating nutrition and fitness research into practical guidance for everyday readers.