Kamoto

Brain, right rib bone, back and lymph nodes. All gone except the lung mass which is probably there but extinct.

Japanese? No Italian. Italians don’t need suntan lotion, we use Bain De Solei for the St Tropez tan. Lol thanks Karen, yes doing well

Can’t they do this by blood? I think that’s what happened to me, couldn’t get enough tissue during biopsy, so they just went the blood route.

45 below zero for five days straight. Power bill was still only 230 for the month. I love hydroelectric power

So went to dermatologist. You won’t believe this. I have a 3rd distinct cancer. Basal cell skin cancer. They want to cut the rest out, but I said no cutting until the oncologist says it’s fine. I see him Monday. Wonder if he will allow it. Stage IV Lung Stage II Esophagus Basal Cell Skin

Yet to see oncologist, as driving over there is a nuisance. I finally had some dental work done. I’ll go in the new year. I’m less worried about the scalp issue. I think my Tagrisso is affecting the healing of anything. I sharpened my knives for the holidays, and cut two of my fingers. The dam cuts won’t heal either. I was squeezing lemon juice into my apple pie mixture, and it burned like heck. I think I’ll call the pharmacist for Tagrisso and ask her what to do. Merry Christmas to everyone.

I had my chest and abdomen CT scan last week, and no evidence of disease. However, I have a sore on top of my head which bleeds daily and hasn’t healed for almost a month now. I see Oncologist next week, but was wondering if anyone had this metastatis. I’m guessing this is a symptom which will necessitate a PET scan. Seems 19% of Stage IV NSCLC jump to scalp.

Before you go down any "surgery" or "Chemo/Radiation" road, think about whether you want to confirm your Oncologists treatment plan with one of the nationally recognized cancer centers (IE, MD Anderson Houston, Mayo in Minnesota, Denver Jewish in Colorado, etc). A hospital Oncologist has to treat every cancer which comes through their door, whereas the national centers have specialists who ONLY deal with lung cancer. I'll vouch for Mayo Clinic, who did my esophageal ultrasound and mapped out where the cancer was so the local hospital could zap it with precision radiation.

Brain MRI is in November. That will be the 2nd one I’ve ever had. I’ve had two total PET scans in the year since discovery. They are 9000 a piece so I understand why I won’t have another until there are symptoms. Stage IV lung with previous met to the brain

Yikes. i have zero side effects at 80MG. i had a pencil eraser brain met, and tagrisso whacked that within six months. i'd be afraid of my heart at such a high dose. who is your 2nd opinion center? i use Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN and they agreed with my local cancer centers plan for 80MG. My Montana oncologist was on the team at Denver Jewish hospital which helped get Tagrisso approved. Be careful with Oncologists who want to toxic dose you. the repercussions can be worse than the hoped for cure.

I wouldnt go past 80mg. just because you increase the dose doesn't mean you accelerate the reduction or removal of tumors. my brain tumor was the size of a pencil head, and within six months was gone on 80MG. my lung is reduced by about 80% and i'll now more on tuesday as i have a scan scheduled. Tagrisso can have some serious side effects. If she tolerates the 80mg does well, as I do, stay with that. i have zero side effects. I wouldn't want the heart issues which could come with a higher dose.

He just started. I sure do hope that when he hits his bottom, you don't stick to this no sugar nothing good diet. i wanted to be able to taste. i was getting only 400 calories a day, and a box of sweet tarts may have helped me stay alive. sometimes my only tolerable food was a McDonalds Filet o Fish. he will need anything he can tolerate. Being naturopathic while battling chemo radiation sounds good, but staying alive is more important. Tread lightly down this road.

Soon as I discussed with Homeopathic Doc, I turned the corner. So I never used her services. Thanks to Jimmy John turkey sandwiches with provolone cheese. Since the Feb 14th post, it is now April 24th, I've put back ten pounds. Once my taste buds returned, it was nice to be able to eat half a package of Chips A'Hoy with zero guilt. Anything to put pounds back on was welcomed. Going to sleep and feeling your skin stretching over your ribs was an uneasy feeling. So to all those who think the residual effects of chemo/radiation last forever, hang in there. Deadened senses when they are reawakening can be brutal to deal with. Just takes time, and eventually you will back. Would I do it again if the targeted drug stops working? No way in hell. That is suffering I wouldn't wish on anyone and I can't do it again. I'm like the people in Naked and Afraid who just get broken down mentally. As someone who had zero illnesses for 57 years, I'm not equipped to deal with health struggles 🙂

I'm on ten months of targeted therapy. Tagrisso. I'm in the treatable camp, for the lung cancer, and the cure camp for my esophagus cancer. Tagrisso will hopefully treat me for about 3 years before the smart cancer figures out a way around the medicine. If that happens, I'll need a new drug. If the drugs don't work, I refuse chemo radiation as that crap nearly killed me curing the esophagus cancer. Mind over body. Who is in control, the cancer or you? Don't let it define you, and live as long as possible with the advances in modern medicine.

Dublin CA? Hah, I spent the past 20 years living in East Dublin near Dougherty Elementary. I moved to Bozeman MT to escape the crazy lockdowns of the pandemic. My chemo/radiation trips to Bozeman Health were only 15 mins and six miles away. I can't imagine driving over the bridge every day to get to Stanford from Dublin. I have to add, your a trooper to go through chemo at 75. The ONLY reason I did chemo/radiation was I would eventually choke to death with no warning that it was about to happen (Stage II Esophagus and Stage IV Lung). Stupid chemo nearly killed me at 58. If I didn't have a forty pound stomach I likely would have been a goner. If the stupid lung cancer requires chemo/radiation the answer from me would be no. I'm one and done with that toxicity. So good on you for going through it at 75. I'm impressed.

Karen speaks the truth. My oncologist was on the team who trialed Tagrisso while he was w Denver's Jewish Hospital. His initial speculation was EGRF mutation and it most certainly was. But when I informed him that I was getting a 2nd opinion from Mayo Clinic in Rochest MN, he welcomed it, as he was having to deal with every cancer as the single oncologist here in Bozeman MT. He told me he couldn't keep up with advances in Lung, but that Mayo has probably fifteen specialist who only deal with lung. Mayo Clinic agreed to his entire treatment plan, and offered nothing else they would recommend. Why won't they do a biopsy? My lung tumor on CT scan was 3.5 MM and they ordered a biopsy. Once they determined EGFR mutation and malignant, they ordered the PET scan, which I lit up and they staged me at Stage IV with mets on the rib, brain, and back, as well as a seperate Stage II esophagus cancer. People say US Medicine is terrible, but when you have corporate insurance, US Medicine is best in class. Get the 2nd opinion in Germany or if you can afford it, fly into Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN who is setup for international patients.

HI BBTN. Have you ever read or watched "The Secret". Universe's law of attraction. I've practiced this my whole life, and when cancer struck, I couldn't have cared less. It was just something life throws at you. Stay positive, keep a clear mind when dealing with doctors, and spend energy on productive things. By doing this, every single nurse and doctor I've come across wants to fight cancer for me. At week five of chemo, I was ready to give up, but the Oncologist who I trusted told me he is curing me, not treating me. I brought gifts during Christmas for the chemo staff, as well as the Oncology staff. I was never toxic to anyone, and by being a nice person, I was rewarded with their energies to fight for me. I may be an outlier, and human tendency is to lash out when severely sick, but keep a positive attitude and it will serve you well. I beat esophagus cancer, and currently beating Stage IV lung (last tumor is in the lung but reduced by 70%). Screw cancer. LOL

Hello Herb. Have a look through some of my posts, as you and I and many others are in the same boat. You didn't say if you started on Tagrisso, but I've been on it since July of 2022. As long as I take my immodium daily, Tagrisso has zero side effects for me. And that stuff worked within two weeks, as my rib tumor pain was quickly erased by Tagrisso. I was hoping for more time so I could renew my Morphine prescription, but I couldn't lie to the oncologist. LOL. All of my horrible periods were because of my stupid Esophagus cancer which needed Chemo/Radiation. Good luck and Team Tagrisso is here if you need us

I got a beautiful AirBNB in Destin Florida with a friend for a nice two week vacation. Was good to get out of Bozeman and this never ending 2023 Winter. Going through the TSA screening at the airport, I got flagged for an unknown object embedded in my skin. Told them I have Stage IV Lung Cancer and showed them the port which pushes the skin up. I had to have my fingers wiped, and rub it on the port to determine there were no explosives in my port. I have to say, TSA was very respectful, wished me well in my cancer fight, and only delayed me by a minute or two. They didn't even ask to see my Tagrisso medicine which was packed in my carryon. If they did, I was prepared to tell them they can open that up if they so desire, but if they had plans on having children, they might want to stay away from my Tagrisso. I left the Accredo pharmacy literature on the pill bottle just in case they wanted to know what is was.

Started to eat a few weeks back. Stopped throwing up every day. I’ve even left the house to food shop and the smells didn’t kill me. So I think 7 weeks after last radiation treatment I felt better. Wish I could ski or snowmobile but need to regain more strength. Thanks all. My daughter works for homeopathic doctor and they wanted to help but I had started to feel better.

Hi Karen. He says the rate of reduction is normal. The easy parts get done first, then the hard parts take time. I’m maintaining weight and tast is coming back. I stopped throwing up daily. I’ve even gotten out of the house. Kindly

X-ray negative, CT is negative, no doctor will send you for a PET scan. In the US that costs 7000 bucks on average. If your really concerned maybe pay for the PET scan at a private facility or take a trip to the US. My lung cancer easily showed up on just an X-ray. 3.1 x 2.7 mm. Size of a grape

Wait, January 9th to taking Tagrisso right away. No PET scan? No biopsy with bio marker testing? She has EGFR mutation? I think you left off a good many details which filling in will help. On Tagrisso since July of 2022. Take it at night. Don’t skip the anti diarrheal medicine

Why did they double your dose. Initial was 80mg? If they try and double me, no way I’m doing it. The stomach and diarrhea disorders from 80mg is bad enough

Esophagus tumor is resolved. Lung tumor is 1.7 x 1.4 which seems to indicate the lung mass is being controlled by Tagrisso but it looks like tumor reduction is slowing. Will see what oncologist says