Connect
← Return to Anyone taking Tagrisso for Lung Cancer?
Discussion
Anyone taking Tagrisso for Lung Cancer?
Lung Cancer | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (171)Comment receiving replies
Hi, I've been on Tagrisso (80mg) since Dec of 2025. It took me several months to adjust to the drug. At first, I had sores on my tongue, found it not easy to swallow liquids or solids, and had some very dry skin on my fingers, some with deep, deep cracks. Those symptoms have passed. Now I'm feeling pretty normal for a 78-year old. I lost some weight - about 20 lbs or so - and didn't have an appetite. But now, I'm actually hungry! And I'm making a conscious effort to eat healthy food, rather than eat high-calorie, high-fat foods to keep from losing weight.
I think by body has adjusted to the Tagrisso pretty well now, and mentally I have gotten over the shock of being diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic NSDLC, never having been a smoker. That was the really hard part for me - the shock of the diagnosis. So as I'm feeling close to normal health, I'm trying to make better food choices and am getting back on the track to regular exercise (visits to the gym and weekly hikes on mountain trails). It's taken several months, for sure. But I've been pacing myself, and I give myself credit for making the choice to get back to a healthy lifestyle.
As far as the weight I lost, I'm glad those pounds are gone. I wanted to lose weight anyway: to get back to a healthier BMI and to better help control my blood pressure. And ... another benefit is that now I can fit again into the clothes I love. I just didn't want to lose weight due to cancer. So, since I'm feeling better - physically and emotionally, I want to take advantage of those positives and enjoy the additional time on this Earth that Tagrisso has given me. I'm grateful for the advances in medical research that have led to this drug and grateful that I live in a time when it's available to patients. Despite the cancer and despite some of the side effects of the drug, I do have a lot to be grateful for.
Replies to "Hi, I've been on Tagrisso (80mg) since Dec of 2025. It took me several months to..."
Connect
@kedim I understand the shock of the diagnosis! When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 NSCLC, I couldn't believe it! I smoked for 15 years as a teen and young adult and quit in 1990. That diagnosis and all the information that went with it, was ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT (and my own mortality, and how to tell my close family and friends). I had a negative lung biopsy in September 2025 and then another in December 2025 and THAT one was positive. The doctor that performed the biopsy said "he didn't have the right equipment" the first time. I don't know what that means, but I think he should have delayed the first one a few days UNTIL he had the right "equipment", because 3 months later, it had spread to lymph nodes, brain and bone (Skull). I had the one on the skull irradiated NYE 2025 and that shrunk that "bump", which was the only thing giving me pain.
I'm glad that you are grateful and you are making better food choices. I have eaten mostly healthy in my adult life, although I like a little something sweet 4 or 5 days a week at night. It's comforting. Best of luck to you and EVERYONE else who is in this crappy boat!