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Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi

Lung Cancer | Last Active: Jan 22 8:18am | Replies (1013)
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@mikee2all

My name is Mikee, I am 77 and have been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I have been put on the medication Tragrisso. Has anyone been on this medication and what is the outcome?

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Replies to "My name is Mikee, I am 77 and have been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer...."
Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Jan 8 12:22pm

Hello Mikee. (@franciekid; @flusshund )

Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. How long have you been on Tragrisso? Have you had an side effects as yet?

Merry

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Matthew K | @flusshund | Jan 8 12:57pm

Mikee,

Sorry to hear you've joined the club. I'm guessing you mean "Tagrisso". If not, you can stop reading. 🙂

I'm 63-years-young and have been on Tagrisso for over 3 years. So far, the primary outcome has been that I've been lung cancer-free for 3 years. I have to add the qualifier because a whole-body dermatological scan found a basal cell carcinoma on my cheek that was removed last month.

The only long-term side effect I've experienced is brittle fingernails. 10mg of Biotin daily has helped. Initially, I had the usual diarrhea, plus low sugar and sodium levels. The sugar levels corrected themselves. I was taking up to 2 Imodium a day at one point, but that faded and disappeared after about 6 months. My sodium level was around the minimum normal since before I had cancer, but it got worse. Today I limit my fluid intake to no more than 50 to 60 oz (1.5 to 1.8 liters) of fluid per day, as recommended by my Nephrologist. As long as I do that, my levels are OK.

I had other symptoms that I suspect or know were not due to Tagrisso. My lung cancer metastasized to my brain, and I started Tagrisso a couple of months after having brain surgery.

Let me know if you have any more questions, and I'm wishing you the best!

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