Health Update 07/21/2022

 On Monday July 18 I had an MRI on my brain.

As you may recall, when I was first diagnosed, I had a number of metastases in my brain, the largest of which was 6mm.  The report at the time said "Multifocal small rounded foci of enhancement in both the supratentorial and infratentorial brain indicative of brain metastases."  At the time, having metastases in my brain was the scariest part of having stage IV lung cancer.  The not being able to breathe and the pain from the tumors on my spine were both bad, but hearing that my brain was compromised was the worst.  I'm a knowledge worker (software), so if my cognition is compromised my ability to make a living is also compromised.  Additionally, brain injury can lead to personality changes, frequently in a negative way, so I was imagining the worst in terms of how I would change and what my family would have to put up with.  I read a lot, so I was afraid I would lose my ability to do that.  I'm prone to introspection and contemplation, and its hard to do either of those when the tool you use to do it is compromised.   The short version is I was afraid I would lose my self, and not in the good "I've achieved enlightenment" kind of way.

Luckily, Tagrisso was available, and is the first drug of its kind that crosses the blood brain barrier, and was extremely effective in cleaning up the brain metastases. Two months after I started with Tagrisso, the metastases were all gone.

That remains the case, as the most recent report reads "There is no evidence of malignancy".

Next up for me is a PET scan in early September to look in on the rest of my body.  But first, we will celebrate the continued good results.