Back on Tagrisso

The title for this post tells you the good outcome of yesterday's appointment, but I'll back up and give you the play-by-play. We set out around 8:40 for the noon appointment, listening to Leland's iPod playlists, which he named "Daddy Do It" 1, 2, and 3. These were some of the gorgeous views along the way (to and from). I've missed these Central PA views. The signs for Mastriano, our white supremacist governor candidate? Not so much.

passing a town named Lilly

We've always wanted to go!

The Hillman Cancer Center at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is huge and rather confusing (e.g., there is no central place to check in), so we were glad we gave ourselves plenty of time. This was my first time at a cancer center; it was sobering to see patients whose cancer was visibly advanced, wrapped in blankets or using walkers or wheelchairs. I felt like I shouldn't be there, but I'm also a card-carrying member of this club none of us wanted to join.

We first met with an oncologist whose last name I forget, so we'll go by her first name, Dr. Anastasia (from Greece). [Edited to add: last name is Tsagianni. She is an oncology fellow.] She took down my whole story and then said she and Dr. Villaruz (my oncologist) would consult, view my previous CT scans, and come back in 10-15 minutes. Thankfully, Leland and I brought what my mom used to call "reading material" with us, because it took more like an hour. 

Dr. Villaruz said that she thinks it's too early to discontinue Tagrisso, given all the complicating factors that could have caused the pneumonitis (lung inflammation). No one can say definitively, but it seems that I'm the victim of yet another rare event: the Lovenox blood thinner injections failed to prevent the new, large blood clot that sent me to the ER on the 15th. As I told Dr. Villaruz, I'm tired of being an outlier. 

So I will stay on Prednisone steroids, Eliquis blood thinners, and re-start Tagrisso. I will get more CT scans over the next 4 weeks, watch carefully for any new shortness of breath, and go back for 2 appointments. She also laid out other options in case the Tagrisso does cause problems and/or the cancer progresses, including adding chemotherapy to the mix or taking earlier, "third generation" targeted therapy drugs (the disadvantage of these is drug resistance). I felt more hopeful about Tagrisso after talking to her than I did after the oncologist consultation at Mt. Nittany. Drs. Anastasia and Villaruz were very compassionate, attentive, and thorough in answering our questions. As Leland has been saying, now we "hurry up and wait"--this time to see whether my shortness of breath worsens and the scans improve over the next 2-4 weeks.

After waiting for an EKG and a blood test, it was 3pm before we hit the road. We are thankful for the generosity of friends whose donations paid for our gas, parking, and lunch for this and future trips.

As we drove home, we were following updates on Lily's first volleyball game (in Williamsport). I had sent out a call to retired folks from church to see if anyone could go cheer on Lily; Laura and Aunt Lois came to the rescue and made the 1.5-hour drive from their home. Alloparents for the win! Lily was serving on the last several points and State College won the match. It was a great way to end her first match.

Lily and Aunt Lois