September 18 marked 38.6 months (3 years, 2 months, 18 days) since I first started taking Tagrisso. Why is 38.6 months significant? Because it is the median overall survival in the FLAURA study, a landmark study (2014-16) comparing Tagrisso and older targeted therapies among patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, EGFR mutation, and no prior treatment. 279 patients received Tagrisso and 277 people received an older drug (in addition, all patients received at least one dose of a trial drug). Nearly 58% of patients had died when data collection stopped. However, patients in the Tagrisso group lived nearly 7 months longer (median) than the control group. When Leland and I initially read that number – 38.6 months – in the Tagrisso promotional materials, we were stunned. This was supposed to be good news? The median age in the FLAURA study was 64 and at the time (August 2022), I had just turned 50. But still, it was a sobering statistic. For the longest time, I didn't feel ...