Targeted Therapy a Success
The Takeaway , So Far
Targeted Therapy a Success
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment . It zeroes in on proteins that direct the division , growth , and spread of cancer cells . My doctor at Vanderbilt prescribed Tagrisso ( osimertinib mesylate ), an approved targeted therapy for people with EGFR exon lung cancer .
The way it works is , that gene is broken , but targeted therapy tricks your body into thinking it ’ s still intact . Sometimes the cancer catches on that it ’ s not the real deal and mutates .
I started on Tagrisso in December 2019 . By December 2020 , the primary tumor had shrunk by 70 % and all my bone mets -- short for metastases , or cancer cells that have spread to the bones -- had healed .
We made the decision to be aggressive and proceed with eight high powered SBRT , aka stereotactic body radiation therapy . This treatment uses super focused , strong radiation doses that attack cancer cells but aren ’ t as harmful to healthy tissue . In theory , this killed any remaining cancer cells that were present in my primary tumor . I ’ ve remained on Tagrisso and haven ’ t had any progression .
My condition has remained stable , with no cancer growth .
They say targeted therapies like Tagrisso can be effective for 2 to 3 years before it stops working . Well , it ’ s been almost 3 years and it ’ s still working . Tagrisso is a new drug -- it was approved in 2018 -- so really the jury is still out on how long it can last . I don ’ t think the projections take into account the overall health of the person , either . I ’ m very fit and active , a busy mother of 3 , only 43 years old at the time of diagnosis and currently 46 .
The Takeaway , So Far
I think a major plus for us in this journey has been that we ’ re educated people . We know not to just trust what one doctor says . We know how to be our own advocates . I was running about 20 miles a week , and caring for kids ages 8 , 12 , and 13 , when I was diagnosed . I was like , “ I can ’ t be done here .” I wasn ’ t willing to take this “ two years to live ” sentence . We quickly became our own advocates because we had to be .
Lung cancer is a very lonely cancer . Most people diagnosed with it are older and have smoked . The general perception is , “ You smoked . You did this to yourself .” Well , for one , I don ’ t look sick . It ’ s a huge stigma you don ’ t deserve . No other cancer seems as isolating . For example , people empathize with you more if you have a condition like melanoma .
For those of us who are younger – we make up 20 % of lung cancer diagnoses – we ’ re rolled in with everyone else . It seems people don ’ t want to devote energy to research and funding as much as other types of cancer . This is a hard cancer to have .