Two years ago today I heard some news I hoped I wouldn’t hear — I had lung cancer.
After a few months of a nagging dry cough, and suspicious X-rays and CT scans, I had a bronchoscopy and biopsy at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Nov. 22, 2022. Within hours, my interventional pulmonologist told me and my wife he expected the biopsy would show I have lung cancer.
By that evening, my oncologist introduced himself in my hospital room, and described a series of tests and consultations I’d have in the next few days to determine whether my cancer had spread. Those scans showed I had cancerous tumors in both lungs, and cancerous lymph nodes in both lungs — that’s stage 4 cancer.
Perhaps most important, biomarker testing identified the particular mutation of my cancer, EGFR, which responds well to targeted therapy.
Fast forward by three months, one-pill-a-day targeted therapy cleared most of the cancer from both lungs, which made a robotic-assisted lobectomy possible. By May 2023, I was cancer-free, and have been that way since.
I’ll keep taking my targeted therapy pill for the foreseeable future. For me, and most patients, the side effects are easily tolerated, as I just fit in a daily nap after my 4 a.m. to noon shift at WTOP.
In the years since my diagnosis and initial treatment I’ve learned more than I ever thought I’d need to know about lung cancer, including that many newly diagnosed lung cancer patients already have advanced cancer. And, despite being the deadliest of all cancers in the U.S., lung cancer screenings lag far behind other cancers.
Not exactly my “happy place,” but certainly my hopeful one. Here at Inova Scharfor CT scan and liquid biopsy. Tomorrow marks 2 years since dx w stage 4 #lungcancer. After one-pill-day targeted therapy and lobectomy, I’ve been cancer free since May 2023. #lcsm #CanSky #OncoSky
— Neal Augenstein (@nealaugenstein.bsky.social) November 21, 2024 at 3:32 PM
Since becoming cancer-free, my oncologist has developed an aggressive surveillance regimen. I have CT scans every few months, which can spot lesions as small as two or three millimeters, and twice-yearly brain MRIs, since my particular cancer is prone to spreading to the brain.
Just yesterday, I had a CT scan and liquid biopsy — a blood draw that looks to see whether I have lung cancer cells remaining in my blood stream.
Since I began my journey, I learned terms developed by the millions of others who live with cancer.
Today, on my “cancerversary,” I’m trying to minimize the “scanxiety” of waiting for test results to pop up on my phone by remembering all the groundbreaking research going on to develop the next generation of lung cancer treatments and screening mechanisms.
I’m very lucky to have good doctors, good medicine, good insurance, and good luck on my side, not to mention wonderful family and friends. And, I’m so appreciative of the warm wishes and prayers I’ve received from people who know my work at WTOP.
Two years down. Let’s keep it going.
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