@bob, I was cancer-free after treatment. However, I was diagnosed with a 3.2 cm cyst in my brain about 18 months later. That's because chemo doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier. A neurosurgeon removed the cyst, and my radiologist gave me five rounds of radiation to finish the job. My oncologist started me on Tagrisso at the same time because I have the EGFR Exon 19 mutation. That was almost four years ago.

Since then, I had one recurrence early this year, when my 3-month brain MRI revealed increased activity between the area of resection (where they removed the cyst) and my skull. I had one more round of radiation and continue taking Tagrisso to this day.

I've gotten way carried away with my advocacy this year as I'm both a civilian reviewer for the government organization that wants to cure all diseases prevalent among military personnel (the CDMRP) and a Patient Research Advocate-in-training with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). So, I know that, at the moment, Tagrisso is only recommended as a first-line treatment for Stage 3 and above. Again, that's only for the EGFR mutation. Have you received the results of your husband's cyst biopsy yet? Nowadays, the type of NSCLC determines the treatment.