2026 NOV CR3 News Magazine VOL 5: LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH | Page 57

I had chemotherapy and radiation at the same time, 25 treatments of radiation and 2 weeks of chemotherapy, one week at the beginning and one week at the end of radiation. While I was on chemotherapy, I was fully independent, however, I stopped going to the gym and running outdoors. The CT a few weeks later showed that the treatments had a minimal effect, and basically the cancer had not changed. I was then referred to a different surgeon, because my original surgeon had retired, and he decided to perform a left upper lobectomy and extensive lymph node resection by a thoracotomy.  This was in March 2015, I was again fortunate as I knew the anesthetist, and operating nurse and knew that I was in safe hands.  My length of stay in hospital was longer than anticipated because I couldn’t keep my oxygen levels up and required a blood transfusion. Surgery was followed by one round of chemo. I think that with all cancers, the cures and the treatments can be worse than the initial disease itself. 

I had been using sick days and applied for short term disability through work.  Eventually, the disability insurance wanted to start a return to work program. I loved my job as the renal transplant social worker, but it was busy and stressful at times, and I knew that if I returned to work I wouldn’t have the time or energy for all of those things that were important to me.  Fortunately, I could afford to take early retirement. While I was off work recovering from my cancer treatments and surgery, I wanted to do things that would give my life meaning. I started going to yoga again, meditating and exercising, (all of these being offered for free through CCMB), I started playing my violin again and volunteering. Initially with an organization for immigrant newcomer children, then with a senior’s center. I also started watercolour painting, zentangling, resumed travelling, and going to cross - fit classes for seniors. I am English and still have family and friends in England, my partner is from France, and my eldest son lives in Australia, and so we travel frequently to various places and this continues to be important to me.  Life was good and I was very active and busy. 

In December 2018, I realized that I was having peripheral vision problems and I was bumping into things. I went for an eye test, and phoned CCMB to inform them of what was happening. My ophthalmologist gave me a written report stating that I had a lesion and I reported this to CCMB who then arranged

for a brain MRI.  CCMB phoned me back on the same day to tell me I had brain metastases. This was just as devastating as the original diagnosis after having had no evidence of disease for almost 3 years

I got in very quickly to see a new radiation oncologist and was offered Whole Brain Radiation (WBR), my case having been discussed at the CCMB Lung Cancer Rounds. I had 12 treatments of WBR, which resulted in me being very tired for several weeks. Like all things it passes, and you carry on with gradually building up tolerance for activities. I started on crizotinib for a few months and had visual side effects. At that time, crizotinib was the only drug available and was I upset about that, because I knew alectinib was more effective in crossing the blood brain barrier. Eventually my oncologist managed to get alectinib covered on a compassionate drug program, until payment was taken over by my partners Health Benefit Plan and eventually by CCMB. I started alectinib April 2018 and I have been on the same dose ever since. The brain metastases shrunk with the whole brain radiation and the alectinib is keeping them the same size. My chest, abdomen and pelvis CT’s show no evidence of disease.

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