Multiple lung nodules are present

I guess my love affair with Alectinib  is over since my latest chest CT showed multiple nodules. There are 4, to be exact, ranging in size from 4mm to 10mm, all an increase in size from my previous CT scan 6 months ago.

This is not the news I wanted to hear…

not

at

all

Dr. Bauml had no hesitation in moving to the next drug, he even had the insurance approval process started before my appointment. I’m about to be introduced to my new lover, Sir Lorlatinib.

This drug was just recently approved (November 2018) as a second or third-line treatment option for ALK positive lung cancer. Good news – I’m still behind the research. Bad news… I’m catching up. Unfortunately I didn’t get a great run on the Alectinib, just a little over a year, so of course I’m loosing a little bit of hope with the big picture. I’ve been skirting along the average of about a year per drug and although it’s not that I’m doing worse than would be expected, I’m not not excelling like some of those lucky people who get years on these drugs.

Insurance approved the drug without too much hassle so now I’m waiting for all the dots to be connected so it will actually arrive in the mail. It could be another week or so until that all happens.

I know many of you aren’t sure how to respond to this and it’s okay. I’m not really sure myself. It’s scary. It sucks. I’m mad and confused… but it’s the hand I’ve been dealt and I’m doing my best to play these cards as smartly as possible. Dr. Bauml isn’t in panic mode yet because there’s still several options out there when these “easy ones” run out. I still can explore chemo and radiation and possibly even immunotherapy, although that hasn’t shown much promise for the ALK mutation yet. I’m not out of options yet and maybe, just maybe, I will get a longer run with Sir Lorlatinib.

If you’re really feeling moved to do something then please consider sharing my story and/or donating to our research fund. The biggest obstacle in my journey right now is lack of funding for meaningful research along with the stigma surrounding this disease. People need to be aware that nonsmokers can get lung cancer too and it’s becoming a lot more common than most of us realize. Although I support all research and breakthrough, it’s time we realize cancer isn’t always pink and NO ONE deserves lung cancer!