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Pulmonary function test and Tagrisso milestone

Thankfully, I haven’t had much to report health-wise. I’m continuing to feel well, and now only use oxygen while flying. I did have a major skirmish with insurance because I noticed that the oxygen supply company said I owed over $550 in unpaid bills, instead of the usual $16/month. After hours of sleuthing and contacting PSU’s Highmark concierge, I learned that the oxygen company somehow neglected to submit the in-network renewal paperwork, so I was being charged out-of-network prices for 5 months. Earlier this month, I spent nearly an hour on the phone filing an appeal. I learned this week that it was approved…but I still wasted probably 3-4 hours of time and a lot of mental energy because of someone else's incompetence.

I had my pulmonary function test today, the first since May 2024. One indicator increased, another decreased slightly, and the third decreased from 86% to 75% (% of expected value for women my age). (see below) My pulmonologist thinks this may be a function of the test, not my lungs, since I’ve had no shortness of breath, coughing, or other symptoms, and he said my lungs sound great. So, I have to do another PFT in 6 weeks. Not gonna lie, this is freaking me out a bit, especially since I don’t have a CT scan and oncology appointment until the end of March.

The median time to resistance for Tagrisso is 19 months. Resistance is when cancer cells become resistant to the medication. At that point you have to go to plan B: another medication (targeted therapy for the new genetic mutation, immunotherapy, etc.), chemo, and/or radiation. Coincidentally, today marks 2 years, 7 months (31 months) on Tagrisso – 1 year past the median. I’m profoundly grateful for this miraculous, life-saving drug. At the same time, the thought of resistance is always lurking.

Leland and Lily gave me a subscription to People magazine for Christmas (don’t judge!). A quote in a story about a young woman with cancer resonated with me. “You think when you have cancer, you’re going to wake up every day and think, ‘Oh, I have cancer.’ At some point you wake up, and you just live. You don’t even think about it.” I can attest that this is true.

 

Pulmonary function test results

FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) measures the air you exhale in 1 second.

Jan. 2025: 105%

May 2024: 98% (34% improvement since 10/22)

Nov. 2023: 95%

May 2023: 91%

Oct. 2022: 73%

TLC (total lung capacity) is the total volume of air in the lungs after inhaling as much as possible.

Jan. 2025: 93%

May 2024: 102% !! (48% improvement since 6/22)

Nov. 2023: 95%

May 2023: 83%

Oct. 2022: 72%

Jun. 2022: 69%

DLCO (diffusing capacity of lung for carbon monoxide, aka diffusion) is the extent to which oxygen passes from the lungs into the blood. It indicates the extent of lung damage.

Jan. 2025: 75%

May 2024: 86%

Nov. 2023: 82%

May 2023: 68%

Oct. 2022: 49%

Jun. 2022: 41%

 

Comments

  1. DoloresJanuary 30, 2025 at 11:37 PM

    Enjoy those magazines! I am amazed by you everyday ! Keep rocking it

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmiJanuary 31, 2025 at 11:22 AM

    Thanks for keeping us updated Esther. Having that lurker sucks! Believing that the medicine will continue working the same way. You are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsFebruary 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM

      Thanks, Henson. Hoping for normal results again for the next test.

      Delete

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