Target treatment therapy

Hiya

sorry you are going through this, can you find out the name of the tablet ?  And then ask the Macmillan nurses for more info ?

my mum has recently been diagnosed, LC,  she had her first treatment of chemo and immunotherapy Wednesday last week,  she was fine for 3 days, but she has slept loads now, 

wish I could be more help sorry I’m not,  

there’s lots of people on here so hopefully someone will have some info for you, I know it’s scary it’s the unknown , but once your  treatment plan is scheduled  hopefully you will feel a bit better  x 

thinking of u xx

Hi Barby,

Just saw your post and hopefully I can provide some re-assurance to you as I know personally how it feels in that period post diagnosis & before treatment starts.

Targeted therapy is relatively new and is only applicable to certain types of lung cancer which have specific mutations (that you must obviously have), when I was diagnosed last year my oncologist said I was fortunate that I was able to receive targeted therapy (who knows he may say that about everything??), generally speaking targeted therapy is often considered to be an easier / more gentle treatment pathway than say chemo (which it is still possible to move on to in the future if needed).

I have been receiving targeted therapy in the form of a once a day tablet (Osimertinib / Tagrisso for EGFR+ mutation) which I have been taking at home for the last year and have fortunately found it very straight forward with very limited side effects, I visit the hospital once a month to collect the next months supply and take my tablet first thing in the morning, so far I’ve had initial reduction in my tumours and subsequently no growth, in terms of impact on my lifestyle it has been negligible, I do know that I am very lucky in this respect as the potential side effects appear to vary very much from both person to person and also depending on the particular medication, the more common ones including upset tummy & skin rashes, but overall I'd suggest the side effects tend to be less than say chemo or radiation, though all of our bodies will act differently.

My lung cancer nurse is great, she gave me loads of info when she knew what I was going to be prescribed, it may  be useful for you to call your MacMillian nurse again to confirm what drug it is that you are to be given, ask them for some background and if needs be look on the MacMillian website here https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-drugs/targeted-therapies-for-lung-cancer  to find out more about your specific drug and what to expect etc.

As daunting as it all is I find the key thing is not to be afraid of asking loads of questions, (can be easier said than done ) I have a specific book where I note down everything that comes to mind to make sure I don't forget anything.

All the best

Steve

Morning,

Thank you both for your helpful replies,

Sending you and your mum love Trainspotter, I know how worried you will be about your mum because I too have a daughter who is travelling this journey with me. I hope your dear mum is coping with her treatment and getting some good days.

Hi Steve,

I went on Thursday to see. Doctor and the target therapy is the same one you’re on, she also told me I was lucky to be suitable for it. I’m waiting now 2 or 3 weeks for hospital appointment, blood tests etc. then be given tablets. Your post was reassuring, Steve that you’ve been on it a year and not too many side effects but I know we all react differently to medication. 

I’m bit scared about starting it but in truth am bit scared about the whole “thing” as I’m sure we all are a bit. My philosophy is day at a time,  up to now my main symptom is fatigue but when I have a stronger day I make sure I go out.

Love and kind thoughts to everyone on here,

Barbara

Hi barby5,

it’s good they have a treatment plan in place, and if you can take a tablet tht controls stuff then even better, I don’t know much about the treatment they have offered you, only the treatment my mum is having at the moment, 

she is due her 2nd dose of chemo and immunotherapy next Wednesday, 

I hope you are ok and im glad your daughter is a huge help to u xxxx

lots of love xxx 

Hi Barbara,

Really glad you have more clarity on your treatment, I was similar in that I had a couple of weeks before I started and was also scared etc. I was worried too, firstly that I must be really ill (obviously) and also about whether the medication would have loads of side effects etc.

I'd had no real symptoms pre diagnosis other than a bit of a sore back, this was gone within a couple of weeks after I started on Osimertinib so I then decided I wasn't going to be ill (makes sense to me) and started slowly getting back to doing everything I enjoyed rather than worrying about my health as it were, figuring the 3 monthly scans would tell me what was happening and i've been like that ever since.

A top tip I'd give you with Osimertinib is to drink plenty of fluids (water, juice etc) as it has a tendency to dry out your skin, which can lead to cracked hands & feet etc but if you take on plenty of fluids this will help - I drink about 3litres of water a day (6-8 glasses starting as soon as I get up).

To date I have found this forum useful to read and pick up information and other peoples experiences etc, and have gained some good re-assurance from this. However there only seem to be a few of us on here on Osimertinib, there is actually a specific EGFR+ UK charity that has a private Facebook page that I have joined, I would highly recommend that you also join that too, obviously by it’s nature there's a lot of people with similar diagnosis & treatment experiences etc which I've found really helpful and think it may be beneficial for you too, a great source of EGFR+ specific info and a friendly place to ask any questions re. treatment etc.

Good luck and all the best.

Steve