Good Evening All, and Happy Holidays.

Family at Thanksgiving

It has been quite the eventful past few months… and again I must apologize for the absence of updates.

As we’re in the midst of the holidays, many more things are changing… But we’ll start at the beginning, and to explain it all, here’s what my mom wrote…

Since the last update in June, there have been more monthly tests, scans and changes to my treatment. So here they are in a nutshell:

• July – The lung and abdominal CT scan at least confirms NO metastatic tumors anywhere else….Praise God for that!  However, the scan showed growth in all lung tumors & a new cluster of unusual tumors not previously detected on my right upper lobe.
• August – Had a bronchoscopy to biopsy the new cluster of tumors. The pulmonologist attempted 23 biopsies, but sadly there was not enough tissue collected to send for additional DNA testing (to determine if a new mutation is causing the tumor growth). But, gladly, results did determine the tumor cluster consisted of mostly scar tissue and very little cancer. Again, praise God!  Then I had a PET scan conducted to identify the tumors with most growth activity, in order to possibly re- biopsy the tumors. Results indicated the most active tumors are too close to the side of the left lung wall, which posed the risk of collapsing my lung if biopsied. So, the oncologist recommend changing my oral targeted therapy chemo from Tarceva to Gilotrif. The hope was that I could tolerate a higher and consistent daily dose of Gilotrif that would more effectively maintain and potentially reduce the tumors (which was not occurring with the lower every other day dose of Tarceva that I could hardly tolerate).
• September – I started Gilotrif 40mg for only 10 days. I was unable to tolerate it longer due to side effects of nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and loosing 10 pounds. We lowered the Gilotrif to 30 mg daily which was more tolerable, allowing me to stay on it for a total of 2 months.
• October – Had the normal blood work every 2 weeks, and it reveals everything is normal… so far so good!
• November – The CT lung scan reveals all tumors continue to grow in size which confirms I am NOT responding to Gilotrif. The doctor recommended switching to a newly developed oral targeted therapy, Tagrisso.
• November 29 – Started Tagrisso 80mg. So far the side-effects are nose bleeds, muscle twitches, and exhaustion.

I want to express my sincere appreciation for all of my family and friends who continue to be my Prayer Warriors and lift me up before our Great Physician. Your support and prayers have greatly encouraged me as I continue this life-altering journey, all the while keeping my eyes open to ongoing evidences of God’s miracles and leading as He constantly goes before me every step of the way.

Requesting prayers that I will be able to tolerate the full dose, that side effects will be manageable, that I will respond favorably to this new chemo by either maintaining or at best shrinking my tumors. And I will be able to stay on this treatment with the best possible outcome for the greatest length of time.

My Prayer – Dear Lord, You are good. And You are good at being God. Therefore, I trust Your plan and believe that You’re allowing this to happen for a reason. It may be hard, but I’d rather be close to You through a thousand difficult moments than apart from You in a thousand good ones. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Here are two songs mom has been leaning on for support and inspiration.

https://youtu.be/CLeJSWfbAGs