1. < Lung Cancer

Immunotherapy: How many lung cancer patients are 5 yrs post diagnosis?

Posted by stormmayo1 @stormmayo1, Feb 6 12:16pm

How many lung cancer patients here have lived beyond 5 years with Stage II, III, or IV non small cell lung cancer??

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Lung Cancer Support Group.

sanyogita15 | @sanyogita15 | Mar 14 10:29pm
In reply to @lls8000 "Hi @sanyogita15, in the US, treatment plans differ based on the stage of the cancer, I..." + (show)
@lls8000

Hi @sanyogita15, in the US, treatment plans differ based on the stage of the cancer, I am stage IV, so I went straight to the targeted therapy, and did not have chemo or radiation. I’ll have to take the meds forever, as there is no cure at this stage.
The targeted therapy medications are very expensive. I’m fortunate to have insurance that pays for almost the full cost.
Many people here have been through chemo. Here are links to a couple of past posts that may be helpful:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chemo-before-tagrisso-or-not-need-info-but-where-do-i-start/
And: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chemo-experiences/

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Hi @lls8000 I went to the primary doc yesterday n he suggested chemo 4 cycyles and as i have EGFR L858 mutation to go on tagrisso post that for 3 years citing the Flaura results. Yes, its very expensive in India. I am looking for financial assistance as my insurance can cover it or not i need to know n if so also it would be not more than 7 to 8 months. If there is any international assistance program on tagrisso you know of then please let me know. Thanks a lot for your feedback n the useful links you shared. I am going ahead with chemo as the flaura results were also based on combination therapy where chemo after surgery was given followed by tagrisso. It feels really goid to talk to peers as in India very few lung cancer support groups are there.

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1 reply
sg | @sglaza | Mar 15 12:14pm
In reply to @sanyogita15 "Hi @lls8000 I went to the primary doc yesterday n he suggested chemo 4 cycyles and..." + (show)
@sanyogita15

Hi @lls8000 I went to the primary doc yesterday n he suggested chemo 4 cycyles and as i have EGFR L858 mutation to go on tagrisso post that for 3 years citing the Flaura results. Yes, its very expensive in India. I am looking for financial assistance as my insurance can cover it or not i need to know n if so also it would be not more than 7 to 8 months. If there is any international assistance program on tagrisso you know of then please let me know. Thanks a lot for your feedback n the useful links you shared. I am going ahead with chemo as the flaura results were also based on combination therapy where chemo after surgery was given followed by tagrisso. It feels really goid to talk to peers as in India very few lung cancer support groups are there.

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Sanyogita15,
Regarding financial assistance to defray the cost of Tagrisso you can go to the AstraZeneca Tagrisso website and explore the link they have for patient reimbursement plans….hopefully you will qualify.

Regarding your upcoming chemo treatments have they informed you which drugs you will be receiving?

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2 replies
sanyogita15 | @sanyogita15 | Mar 15 11:30pm
In reply to @sglaza "Sanyogita15, Regarding financial assistance to defray the cost of Tagrisso you can go to the AstraZeneca..." + (show)
@sglaza

Sanyogita15,
Regarding financial assistance to defray the cost of Tagrisso you can go to the AstraZeneca Tagrisso website and explore the link they have for patient reimbursement plans….hopefully you will qualify.

Regarding your upcoming chemo treatments have they informed you which drugs you will be receiving?

Jump to this post

Yes they have... platinum therapy using Pemetrexed combined with cisplatin
after surgery. my 5 weeks of surgery are done and they are starting coming
thursday 4 cycles.

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sanyogita15 | @sanyogita15 | Mar 15 11:31pm
In reply to @sglaza "Sanyogita15, Regarding financial assistance to defray the cost of Tagrisso you can go to the AstraZeneca..." + (show)
@sglaza

Sanyogita15,
Regarding financial assistance to defray the cost of Tagrisso you can go to the AstraZeneca Tagrisso website and explore the link they have for patient reimbursement plans….hopefully you will qualify.

Regarding your upcoming chemo treatments have they informed you which drugs you will be receiving?

Jump to this post

also, do astrazeneca website enroll international patients because they ask
for citizenship of USA when i saw that website.

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sanyogita15 | @sanyogita15 | Mar 22 9:58am
In reply to @maddie06 "I’m coming up to my 5th year on March 6th when I was diagnosed with SCC...." + (show)
@maddie06

I’m coming up to my 5th year on March 6th when I was diagnosed with SCC. Still receiving immunotherapy once a month.

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I have also joined the lung cancer n egfr resisters group. N am so glad to see stage 4 cancer survivors of 10 years plus many people on tagrisso are carrying on 5 6 or 7 years with Tagrisso. So glad. God bless you all.

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sjohnson60 | @sjohnson60 | Apr 18 7:28pm

I was diagnosed in August of 2019, had a bi-lobectomy in 2020, recurred in 2020 4 months later, did immunochemistry test for PD-L1 pos for 85%. so was put on Keytruda late 2020 have been on it ever since. No recurrence yet but may be stopping treatment due to they do not know if I am getting any benefit from it still. So, I guess one way to find out is to discontinue for a while and follow up every 6 weeks and CT scan or PET/CT every 3 months. I am scared but I have lived this long, thankfully.

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1 reply
Mentor
Lisa, Volunteer Mentor | @lls8000 | Apr 19 11:13am
In reply to @sjohnson60 "I was diagnosed in August of 2019, had a bi-lobectomy in 2020, recurred in 2020 4..." + (show)
@sjohnson60

I was diagnosed in August of 2019, had a bi-lobectomy in 2020, recurred in 2020 4 months later, did immunochemistry test for PD-L1 pos for 85%. so was put on Keytruda late 2020 have been on it ever since. No recurrence yet but may be stopping treatment due to they do not know if I am getting any benefit from it still. So, I guess one way to find out is to discontinue for a while and follow up every 6 weeks and CT scan or PET/CT every 3 months. I am scared but I have lived this long, thankfully.

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Welcome to Mayo Connect @sjohnson60. Congrats on nearly 5 years since your initial diagnosis! I'm sure it hasn't been easy. Any change in treatment is scary. I'm hoping that the Keytruda has been effective for you. Monitoring you with follow ups and scans is a great plan. Did you experience on going side effects from the treatment? If you do have growth in the future, can you be placed back on Keytruda after this break?

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zora0121 | @zora0121 | Oct 26 11:08am
In reply to @sglaza "Hello Sanyogita15, There are a number of us on this thread who have been diagnosed as..." + (show)
@sglaza

Hello Sanyogita15,
There are a number of us on this thread who have been diagnosed as stage 2, had surgery, and then chemo. Have they completed genetic testing of your tumor and discussed the whole chemo and subsequent treatment plan?

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I'm stage 2 had vats resection. Then 4 cycles of chemo. I'm cancer free at this time but am wondering if anyone has done immunotherapy to reduce chance of reoccurrence? And I'd especially like to hear from anyone in Canada!! Thank you

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1 reply
abob | @abob | Oct 27 10:03am
In reply to @zora0121 "I'm stage 2 had vats resection. Then 4 cycles of chemo. I'm cancer free at this..." + (show)
@zora0121

I'm stage 2 had vats resection. Then 4 cycles of chemo. I'm cancer free at this time but am wondering if anyone has done immunotherapy to reduce chance of reoccurrence? And I'd especially like to hear from anyone in Canada!! Thank you

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Husband had Lobectomy, was cancer free during chemo but a mass developed on adrenal gland which was obliterated by chemo. He is now doing immunotherapy, and recent pet ct lit up a tiny area at back of lung. So we’re glad he’s doing immunotherapy. Cancer is tricky.

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abob | @abob | Oct 27 10:10am
In reply to @lls8000 "Hi @sanyogita15, in the US, treatment plans differ based on the stage of the cancer, I..." + (show)
@lls8000

Hi @sanyogita15, in the US, treatment plans differ based on the stage of the cancer, I am stage IV, so I went straight to the targeted therapy, and did not have chemo or radiation. I’ll have to take the meds forever, as there is no cure at this stage.
The targeted therapy medications are very expensive. I’m fortunate to have insurance that pays for almost the full cost.
Many people here have been through chemo. Here are links to a couple of past posts that may be helpful:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chemo-before-tagrisso-or-not-need-info-but-where-do-i-start/
And: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chemo-experiences/

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Thx for your post. What is different btwn targeted therapy and chemo? Thanks

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