Not so long ago, Mahesh said, drugs were unable to cross the blood‐brain barrier that prevents certain molecules from reaching the brain.
But some ALK inhibitors are known to penetrate that barrier, so the pills will not only treat the cancer in Melissa’ s lungs, but the lung cancer that spread to her brain, he said.
“ She’ s actually on half the dose of the recommended medication dose for that because her liver can’ t take the full dose,” he said.
But even at that dosage, combined with the two weeks of radiation treatments, Melissa’ s quality of life has vastly improved.
“ She was barely able to walk initially... not very stable on her feet,” Mahesh said. Now“ she’ s able to walk. She’ s able to function.”
‘ Whatever happens is God’ s way’
Most of the neighbors surrounding the Millers’ house – the Derrigs’ former house – have tested for radon after learning about its impact on both families.
Some needed radon remediation, some didn’ t, the Millers said.
Part of it depends on the ground directly beneath your home. But it also comes down to a home’ s foundation. Sump pumps, crawl spaces and cracks in floors or walls allow radon to silently sneak in.
“ I’ m a home health nurse and I try to educate all my patients about it,” Maddie said.“ But even an apartment complex, other places you might not think to test, should get a test.”
Melissa and Stephen Derrig also are spreading what they’ ve learned about radon, radon mitigation and non‐smoker’ s cancer.“ Most people have no idea,” Melissa said.
About half of Ohio homes may have high levels of radon, yet only 67,668 had mitigation systems as of 2021, according to the state’ s cancer control plan.
Over the past 10 years – from 2015 through Oct. 3, 2025 – the state health department has given away 71,434 tests, equal to 1.4 % of the roughly 4.9 million households in Ohio.
The Dispatch investigation found that Ohio’ s most vulnerable residents may be most at risk, including children and those who rely on public housing.
And overall, Ohio is the fourth worst state in the nation when combining its high levels of radon with the amount of radon testing done, according to a 2022 American Lung
Association study. Just South Dakota, Montana and North Dakota are worse.