New at this

[Spark691]

My name is David, I am 53 years old and I was just recently diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer with the ALK positive mutation. I am currently under came in with a clinical trial drug and I have responded very well to it so far

[Donna G]

Hello David.  Welcome and glad you found us.

I was 50 years old when I was diagnosed with NSCLC Stage 3B.  They did not even talk about ALK back in 1997.  

Some advances like that are really great.  I hope you respond well to your treatment.  Survival is possible.  I was diagnosed in December

1997, underwent lots of chemo, radiation, surgery and more chemo and got to NED.  I am still here  and able to welcome you.

Please keep us posted on how your are doing and feel free to ask questions.

Donna G

[Tom Galli]

David,

Welcome here.   Like Donna, ALK and targeted therapy (follow the link for info) were not topics of discussion in 2004 when I was diagnosed.  Yet, despite 3 failed surgeries and 3 failed attempts to treat with chemotherapy, I'm still alive.  Interestingly, a newly discovered form of radiation (Cyberknife) was FDA approved right when I needed it the most. So two late stage survivors who have multiple recurrences are still around to talk about it.  If Donna and I can live, so can you.

Let us know how you are doing with your (I assume) targeted therapy treatment.  If you are comfortable, tell us the name of the drug you are on so folks who've experienced it can relay information about their treatment that may help you.

Stay the course.

Tom

[BridgetO]

Hi David,

Welcome to the Frums. I'm glad to hear that you're responding well to your treatment. Hang in there and keep posting.

Bridget