Month: August 2021

Scan results

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Scanxiety is real… the anxiety many of us can feel around scan time. Most who’ve been diagnosed with lung cancer are on treatment, whether it’s a targeted therapy in pill form, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or a new kind of therapy devised by researchers to keep us living longer and better. Whether alone or in combination, most are on treatment and get regularly scheduled scans to see if the treatment is working.

Sometimes some get cues that the cancer may be growing or shrinking, side effects that may be indicators, that might give an idea of what is happening inside our body. Often it’s a mystery. Lung cancer can be sneaky.

My 13th round of chemo was on Thursday August 12. I also continue to take a daily targeted therapy, Lorlatinib. This combination has growing popularity with some of the top lung cancer doctors in the US. I’m thankful to be able to have access to both treatments here. Lorlatinib is very effective at keeping the cancer from spreading to the brain. My CT scan was Monday morning (the 23rd), and results just came in: all is stable or slightly better! Such great news when someone gets good scans!

In the past few months, Several dear friends have gone through progression and questions about what kind of treatment path to take forward. Some have faced serious health challenges. These can be scary times. So grateful every time there is good news. We keep holding onto hope for more research to bring more treatment options which will help further extend life. Often there is uncertainty, and it can look like the research may not be keeping up with the need. And then there’s the issue of access: what about people who cannot use a treatment because they can’t get it? Maybe it’s too expensive or not available where they live or when they need it?

Lorlatinib is a drug that has helped keep me alive and living very well for years. I’m very grateful for it and have been working with others for some time to get better access to Lorlatinib for more Canadians. I’m thankful for the compassionate release program from Pfizer which has meant that every month a package of life-extending medicine, probably worth over $10,000/month, is delivered to the door at no charge. This morning, a cheery FedEx employee handed over the small box with a lovely greeting. He had no idea how thankful I am for that delivery.

Very grateful to continue to receive free Lorlatinib and that scans are good. Very thankful for researchers, clinical trials opening space, terrific care teams, dedicated advocates, and hope. It’s so important to hold onto hope.

(Apologies for the older photo’s. My phone is not currently working.)

Our ALK+ Family Summit July 31 – August 1

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I spent the week-end enjoying our ALK+ Family Summit, and learning about the latest in research for our particular kind of rare lung cancer. Don’t let the term “rare” fool you: we had over 700 people register for our summit. I enjoyed the hospitality of Jo-Ann and Craig Smith for the first day: together we watched the Summit in their awesome space and enjoyed great conversation while they served terrific food and drinks.

I opted to participate in the Summit from home on Sunday since I was leading a “Breakout Room”, which meant that I talked about The White Ribbon Project five times in a row, to five different groups of people who came into the breakout room for 20 minutes each session. It was a great was to spend a chunk of the day, interacting with people I knew, meeting people for the first time, and talking about one of my favourite subjects: lung cancer advocacy!

The White Ribbon Project is an inclusive, unbranded, international grassroots movement, changing public perceptions of lung cancer. As I said in my presentations, we are looking for regional ambassadors – champions – who will host Ribbon Builds and distribute Ribbons. If you are interested in learning more about The White Ribbon Project, please check out our new recently launched website. You can also connect with us through email or social media.

I filled the slide deck with pictures of some amazing people who are part of The White Ribbon Project, many of whom are part of our ALK community, some of whom participated in the breakout room today. In case you’re interested, I’ve put copies of most of th slides below. Heidi and Pierre could not be part of the presentation today, but generously pre-recorded a five-minute video which was part of the slide deck, but not included here.

A big thank you to everyone who is in the photo’s and/or took photo’s! Special shout-out to Heidi & Pierre, Chris, Anne, Michelle, Bonnie, Rhonda and Dave – The White Ribbon Project #team.

www.thewhiteribbonproject.org