In 2017, I began experiencing shortness of breath when exercising on the treadmill. I’d noticed commercials on TV about COPD, and I thought, at 34 years old, I was too young to have a chronic condition like that. Still, I had a gut feeling that I needed to have this checked out.

I saw a pulmonologist near my home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. An X-ray revealed a suspicious spot on my left lung. He consulted the radiology department...