recce101 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Welcome to the LCSC, Gail! Your story will give much hope and encouragement to the new members we see every week, many of whom are also stage IV. Please help us welcome them, and consider including a link to your story in the signature/profile block that will attach to all of your messages. For all: Please see Gail Redmond's remarkable story here: http://lungevity.org/l_community/viewto ... 574#376574 A technical question for Gail: Your response to Tarceva has been exceptionally good. This degree of response has been seen most often (though not exclusively) in patients with some or all of these characteristics: • Gender: Female • Race: Asian • Smoking status: Never smoked • Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma • Molecular testing: Tissue tested positive for presence of EGFR mutation From your writeup I know you meet at least 2 of the 5. When you mentioned being "a candidate for this medicine," do you know what factors your oncologist was considering? Testing for the EGFR mutation has not been done routinely in the past (I didn't have it), but recent studies indicate its presence may trump the other factors. Here's a good discussion on the subject: http://cancergrace.org/lung/2008/11/03/ ... ion-diffs/ Best wishes and Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminkw Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Thanks Ned. I don't have time now, but tomorrow I will and will certainly check out Gail's story. Judy in Key West Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Hi Gail. I just read your story. It is very nice to read about someone's positive response to Tarceva. Many of us here, including myself are on that drug and are praying for similar. It would be interesting to find out what characteristics you possess that fit into the typical positive respondent to Tarceva. Welcome here and please keep us posted on how you are doing. I have found this site to be a great place of hope, comfort, knowledge and support. Continued best wishes Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Hello again. I just saw your question to me Gail in another thread but will answer it here instead. You noted that you have been on 150 mg and that I had moved down from that to 125 mg, and wondered what side effects I had experienced. I had a major major skin reaction after about a week of starting. It was so bad I felt like I needed to crawl out of my face! And it was all over my body as well. So I went off of Tarceva completely for 3 days, started anti-biotics, got back on and then subsequently had to dosage reduced to lessen this side effect. The rash was all over, like in my nose and scalp etc. It was really not bearable. Now, after having been on a lower dose for awhile, it is under control but still creeping up on me. I am starting anti-biotics again today to try and keep it under control. Again, it is so nice to hear how well you are doing with minimal side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail Redmond Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Ned, My doctor said that because I was a white female, non smoker with no underlying diseases, that I was a perfect candidate. I am in perfect health other than the lc. I was treated for pneumonia twice before my dx and then we found out that I never had pneumonia in the first place. He mentioned at my last visit on Oct. 22 that patients who respond well, typically continue to respond well. That is to be seen since I've only had one scan. I will have another chest xray in Dec. to see if my lungs are still clear of any infection, ect. I hope I know how to put my link in the message box. This is all new to me to it may be trial and error at first. Thanks for the suggestion and foryour kind words of welcome. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsC1210 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Hello Gail and welcome to the family! Please don't be afraid to ask us for help with anything you have difficulties with here on the site. This is such a warm and welcoming group of people and there is always someone here who can and will help you out with the technical issues as well as the lung cancer. Looking forward to getting to know more about you, Warmly, Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recce101 Posted November 18, 2008 Author Share Posted November 18, 2008 I was treated for pneumonia twice before my dx and then we found out that I never had pneumonia in the first place. That happens a lot. With too many doctors, lung cancer is the last thing they think of when examining a non-smoker or never-smoker for a lung problem. That's slowly changing. Next time you see your oncologist it might be interesting to ask if some of the tissue they used to get your adenocarcinoma diagnosis was also sent out for molecular testing (EGFR mutation). I think there's a good chance you have it, hence your excellent response to Tarceva. I'll be sending you a PM shortly about the links, etc. Aloha, Ned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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