Lisa B Posted June 10, 2020 Posted June 10, 2020 Hello Everyone! I have been joining the Friday Zoom gatherings and have really found comfort and the support I am needing. I had seen this Forum page and then heard a bit mentioned during the gatherings and decided I needed to join. I live in Iowa just southeast of Des Moines with my Husband. We have 2- children, both boys. One is out of the house, married and has a beautiful daughter with a baby on the way. Our youngest graduating high school this year and has enlisted in the Army and will leave on July 14th for basic training. We also have lake home in Missouri on the Lake of the Ozarks that we enjoy. My cancer journey so far: I was diagnosed on December 26th just last year(2019). I have stage IV adenocarcinoma - no genetic markers; I am not sure if you call that negative or normal or something else? I have a spot in my upper left lobe, then 2 spots in the left lower lobe area in the pleural lining and then my medial sternal lymph nodes are involved. I started Chemotherapy on February 3rd with Carboplatin, Alimta and Keytruda. After my 4th round I had scans which showed only 1/2 cm shrinkage to the tumor in my left upper lobe and no change to my other sites. Rounds 5-7 have been with just Alimta and Keytruda. I am scheduled for a PET scan on the 24th and will get the results on the 26th. If there is good change the plan is to continue on Alimata and Keytruda if there is no change or not enough change then my Physician is talking about trying a different chemotherapy drug. I will go on Monday the 29th for my next round of chemo- whatever combination that might be.
Rower Michelle Posted June 10, 2020 Posted June 10, 2020 Hi Lisa, So good to see you here! Greetings from next state down in KS. One of my doctors is over at the University of Iowa, we head there twice a year for consultation with the Integrative Medicine Physician, Dr Nisly. She’s awesome. Hoping the upcoming scans go well for you. Michelle
Tom Galli Posted June 11, 2020 Posted June 11, 2020 Lisa, Nice that you joined us and I enjoyed meeting you at the Friday zoom session. I'm a retired career soldier and you son is in for a big change lifestyle wise. You won't recognize him after basic training. He'll look like a Iron Man competitor. I do hope you get good scan results. Stay the course. Tom
Susanrae Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 Hi Lisa, Good to hear from you! I am stage IV adenocarcinoma with right lung involvement and a true Minnesotan. Good luck to you on your scans! Take care now, Susan
Rose Kaiser Posted June 12, 2020 Posted June 12, 2020 Your treatment journey is identical to mine. I've been on the Keytruda and Alimta for a year now. It seems to be working for me, along with some radiation also. Good luck with your scan. I grew up in southeast Iowa and live just 40 miles from the Lake of the Ozarks. Small world!
Susan Cornett Posted June 14, 2020 Posted June 14, 2020 Hi Lisa, So glad you found the forums. I also have stage iv adenocarcinoma - no markers. I refer to it as the plain vanilla variety. In the middle of my mess, I decided to throw in some thyroid cancer just to mix things up. Go big or go home. The first three years were tough - diagnosis in February 2016, first recurrence in March 2017, and a second recurrence in 2018. I've been NED (no evidence of disease) since the fall of 2018. There are so many combinations of treatment options and new treatments are being approved often. I'm hopeful your medical team will find just the right combination that works for you. Please keep us posted.
Lisa B Posted June 15, 2020 Author Posted June 15, 2020 On 6/12/2020 at 3:42 PM, Rose Kaiser said: Your treatment journey is identical to mine. I've been on the Keytruda and Alimta for a year now. It seems to be working for me, along with some radiation also. Good luck with your scan. I grew up in southeast Iowa and live just 40 miles from the Lake of the Ozarks. Small world! It often is a small world. We love spending time at our lake home. It is very nice to hear from someone that has a similar journey!
Lisa B Posted June 15, 2020 Author Posted June 15, 2020 On 6/14/2020 at 12:05 AM, Susan Cornett said: Hi Lisa, So glad you found the forums. I also have stage iv adenocarcinoma - no markers. I refer to it as the plain vanilla variety. In the middle of my mess, I decided to throw in some thyroid cancer just to mix things up. Go big or go home. The first three years were tough - diagnosis in February 2016, first recurrence in March 2017, and a second recurrence in 2018. I've been NED (no evidence of disease) since the fall of 2018. There are so many combinations of treatment options and new treatments are being approved often. I'm hopeful your medical team will find just the right combination that works for you. Please keep us posted. I like calling it plain vanilla variety!
Deb W Posted June 16, 2020 Posted June 16, 2020 Welcome Lisa. So glad you found us. I was Stage IB last March and had a recurrence in April. I am also Stage IV adenocarcinoma and recently learned I have the MET biomarker. I am also receiving Carboplatin, Alimta and Keytruda and had the second round on Tuesday. At first I thought the second round was easier until day 3 and 4. So far the plan for me is to be scanned in about 3 weeks to see if there is shrinkage. If not, the plan is to try Trabrecta. I hope to be on the Friday Zoom call. Deb
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