Lung Cancer EGFR Mutation Stage 4: What treatments did you have?

@kalleem1, It must be deflating to hear that her breast cancer is back and has spread to her lung. This is rightfully a scary time but knowing that the breast cancer is driving the cancer growth can help determine the best way to treat the disease. There are different drivers between the two types of cancer. Breast cancer has many advanced treatments available now that weren't available even five years ago. There is real hope in the breast cancer realm.
The decision to wait for biomarker tests versus starting chemo now is highly dependent on her overall health right now and how long the tests results may take to come back from the lab. You may want to ask her doctors what the risks are of waiting, and then you and she can weigh those risks. Some people need to take action right away so they feel that they are doing something, anything, to fight the cancer. We often have time to research and make decisions (as long as she is stable and her overall health isn't at risk, or she is not suffering too much).
The Breast Cancer group may have suggestions on treatments specific to breast cancers too. Here's a link to that group. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/breast-cancer/

Hi @kalleem1, as you likely know, breast cancer that has spread to the lungs is called metastatic breast cancer. Because your wife's cancer cells are breast cancer that has spread to the lungs, her treatment may not be the same as treatment for patients who have primary lung cancer. I hope that makes sense.

For that reason, I encourage you to follow the discussions in the Breast Cancer support group here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/breast-cancer/

I was diagnosed on March 10 and started chemo while waiting for the lymph node biopsy which came back with the mutation so they put me onto Tagrisso but they are telling me that I have to have radiation in order to cure it. They’re giving me a 70-80% chance of that I go to Maio next week for a second opinion and they want to do radiation, apparently they have a proton radiation machine which is supposed to do less damage to the other organs and tissues the cancer Has anyone had the proton radiation or any other radiation? Do you have any side effects from it? How’s your cancer doing? Thanks for any information.

I too have the same mutation so they’re giving me a drug called Tagrisso right now while I wait to have radiation that drug has been really successful in shrinking the cancer, but the ultimate goal would be to have it cured. Radiation is the only way to do that.

What treatments are you getting currently?

Hi @tinae, Here's some info on the proton beam radiation: https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/proton-beam-therapy-program/sections/overview/ovc-20185491
If for some reason you aren't a candidate for proton beam radiation, traditional radiation therapy can also be effective, so don't rule that out if the doctors are saying that it can help. A second opinion is a great idea, so I'm glad you have an appointment set up already.
What stage is your cancer?

Hi Lisa - My oncologist calls at 3.95 the radiologist called at 3B. Being on the Tagrisso Has everything considerably so the decision now is do the radiate the whole area with the intent to cure the cancer or do they only radiate what is still visible with the risk of cancer coming back elsewhere? Mayo Is my second opinion I go there next week and then after their recommendations, obviously I’ll make the decision on where to go from there.

@tinae, my understanding is that surgery, radiation, and medicine such as Tagrisso are used for different sizes of tumors. If the tumor is too large, surgery may be the only option. Radiation can be used to kill smaller tumors. And, if they are small enough, then Targrisso alone can be used to kill the cancer. Doctors always want the least invasive option.

After that, Tagrisso is what keeps the cancer from coming back. And, if there currently are cancer cells somewhere else in your body that are still too small to be seen by either a CAT or PET scan, Tagrisso will kill them before they can grow. Chemo is supposed to do the same thing, but chemo doesn't get to the brain, which Tagrisso does. Unfortunately, lung cancer does metastasize to the brain.

On this issue, I'm speaking from experience. My oncologist is keeping me on Tagrisso because he's worried about the possibility of multiple sites appearing in my brain at the same time.

I'm glad to hear you're getting a second opinion and glad to hear it's at Mayo. Let us know what they recommend. Until then, stay positive!