Emily_N Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Hi Everyone! I am a caregiver. My Mom just got her biomarker results back yesterday and she has the EGFR exon 21 mutation. She is 75 and a former smoker, stage 4a (only saying this as it may be relevant regarding clinical trials). Her doctor gave her treatment options of either starting tagrisso alone or signing up for a clinical trial to see if taking tagrisso with avastin extends recurrence. she's leaning towards only doing tag given the difference in treatment requirements and possible side effects but wondered if people who had been following this for a longer time had any experiences or updates? I saw a thread discussing this trial from back in May 21 but didn't see any updates since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rower Michelle Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Hi Emily, Personally, I wouldn’t want my parents taking two lung cancer drugs in their 70s. Avastin is not a easy chemo on anyone, even younger people. Your mom can have an excellent quality of life on Tagrisso for years. In my support group there are two 70+ people on Tag for almost four years now with their disease well controlled with minimal side effects. I’m very surprised the medical team would even consider such a trial unless they believe exon 21 would be less responsive to Tag alone. It seems like an unnecessary risk to put an elderly person through. Emily_N and Tom Galli 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily_N Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 That is how we are feeling. The doctor honestly wasn't pushing it. I think as a cancer center they just make it an option to anyone who falls within the studies parameters. The phase 2 trial out of Japan had slightly positive results for people who were smokers but otherwise didn't seem to show much improvement and obviously, there are adverse side effects that come up with a handful of patients. Just didn't want to foreclose any option that could be good. Rower Michelle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 I'm late to this thread but I agree with Michelle. Tagrisso alone can give Emily's mom good results. I've been on it for 2 years for Exon 19 deletion. LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily_N Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 Hi All! Just wanted to give an update that my Mom had her first CAT scan post starting Tagrisso and has an 80% reduction in the size of the tumor and no more liquid surrounding her lung. I know this will be an ongoing journey but I'm hoping the Tag can give us a few more good years. She is responding well to it and is still on 80mg with minimal side effects so we're both very happy! Karen_L, LouT and Tom Galli 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Great news! I'm on Tag for 27 months now and am NED (No Evidence of Disease). Hope your mom gets there too. If you're on Facebook, you can gets lots of information from this private group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2098822473719352/?ref=share LouT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily_N Posted June 17, 2022 Author Share Posted June 17, 2022 Thanks so much Judy! I am in this group! It also helped a lot with some of my initial questions and seeing people's responses with exon 19 and 21. A lifesaver. Tom Galli and LouT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 Great! There are also a couple of other groups that I can list: Targeted Therapy Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/targetedtherapylung/?ref=share EGFR Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EGFRlung/?ref=share EGFR Resisters: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EGFRResisters/?ref=share Tom Galli and LouT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgetO Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 Hurray for Tagrisso and Emily's mom! And Emily, too! LouT and Tom Galli 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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