@flusshund Thank you so much for sharing this—it’s really encouraging to hear about your friend and the long-term responses some patients have had with Tagrisso. That gives us a lot of hope.
I also appreciate your explanation of how Tagrisso works. It’s helpful to think about it as controlling the cancer and preventing spread, especially in combination with treatments like surgery or radiation when appropriate.
If you don’t mind me asking, what stage was your cancer when you started taking Tagrisso? My mom is currently stage IV, and her doctors in China have mentioned that resistance can sometimes develop after one or two years. Hearing your experience makes me feel more reassured.
Also, at the beginning of your treatment, were you taking Tagrisso alone, or was it combined with chemotherapy?
Thank you again for your kindness and for sharing your experience. Wishing you continued good health and all the best. 🙏🏻
@tongxiaozhi, I started taking Tagrisso after my lung cancer metastasized to my brain. My doctors surgically removed the cyst, and then I had four rounds of targeted radiation. A month after the radiation, I started taking Tagrisso alone in December 2020.
I did not have chemotherapy because chemotherapy does not cross the blood-brain barrier. However, since then, the Flaura 2 Phase III study has shown that the combination of Tagrisso and chemotherapy improves both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to Tagrisso alone, https://www.ilcn.org/final-flaura2-os-data-show-osimertinib-plus-chemo-offers-benefit-compared-with-monotherapy/. But your oncologist will take into account your mother's age and overall health before prescribing chemotherapy. These decisions are never as simple as they look.
Your mother is lucky to have a child that is doing all this research on her behalf. I wish both of you all the best.
Matthew