Welcome back to the next Thriving
Not Just Surviving blog post. I took a 6-week break from posting, primarily
due to no major news following the amazing CT scan at the beginning of June.
However, I am now ready and refreshed to start posting regularly again
(probably every three weeks).
I received round 6 of treatment last Thursday, July 13. I
continue to feel good and exhibit signs of further progress in my fight. The
enlarged lymph node on my neck that was visibly smaller at the beginning of
June is now completely gone. I can no longer feel it and my doctor was unable
to locate it at the last appointment. This is a positive sign that further
shrinkage is occurring since the CT scan. Furthermore, twinges of pain that I’ve
experienced since the diagnosis when I move in a specific way have
significantly decreased, or in some cases, stopped completely.
My doctor’s confidence in my long-term future has also
improved. During round 5 of treatment at the end of June he stated that I am
“off the bell-curve” in terms of stage 4 lung cancer survivorship percentages.
The bell curve that he is referring to is the bleak outlook that many stage 4
lung cancer patients (including me) are faced with at initial diagnosis. I
won’t get into specific percentages, but most patients do not live more than
1-2 years and almost no one makes it past 5 years. Its impossible to know how
much my long-term outlook differs from this bell curve, but as long as I
continue to respond to treatment there is no limit to my long-term future. It’s
rare, but patients have beaten stage 4 lung cancer. It’s encouraging to know that
my progress continues to make this a feasible outcome.
Another piece of encouraging news is my future treatment
plan. Currently, my doctor believes that I won’t be needing to undergo
traditional chemotherapy. If Keytruda stops working for me, the fallback plan
is to add additional immunotherapy drugs to combat the changing molecular
structure of the cancer. According to my doctor, they have over 40 other
immunotherapy drugs that can be combined with Keytruda that can be effective
against my cancer if it evolves into something that circumvents treatment. The
long-term plan is to continue to take Keytruda and any other immunotherapy for
2 years. It is believed that this is the amount of time it will take to fully
train the immune system to recognize and fight the cancer. Following the two-year window is the great
unknown. It’s impossible to estimate the long-term response of immunotherapy
drugs. In fact, we are already partially into the great unknown. According to
my doctor, they have not yet seen a patient as young as me, with this
aggressive of a lung cancer, that has responded so powerfully and positively.
The next big milestone is August 3; the date of the next CT
scan. It is an understatement to say that this is paramount. The continued
positive progress made since the last CT scan present us with the potential to
see tremendous results. During the last scan over 50% shrinkage was observed.
If we see anything close to this, there won’t be much cancer left in my body. I
do think it is extremely unlikely that the cancer is gone completely, but any further
progress since the last scan will be positive. Over the next few weeks I will
continue to work out as much as possible, eat healthy, and rest in preparation
for the next scan. As expected, fatigue continues to be an increasing side
effect and I’ve had to get creative in managing an active lifestyle while getting
enough rest.
Thanks again for the prayers and support! I expect to have
the next blog post published following the CT scan on August 3.
