In February of 2020, I developed a cough that went unresolved for about three months. Barely noticed it at first, except it never went away. In the COVID-19 shutdown, Kathleen noticed how persistent it was and it started to concern her, so on May 4th I called for a consultation with my doctor and requested a chest X-ray.

On May 5th we got the results of the X-ray. I have a 2″ “mass” in the upper part of my left lung. That is considerably larger than it should be. So they ordered a CT scan to get a better look.

On May 11th we had the CT scan. The results showed a 6cm mass, spiculated (with fingers). Neighboring lymph nodes are activated. The heart looks normal. No bone affected. Abdomen looks good (on the CT but that will change in a few paragraphs).

On May 13th we went to Froedtert Pulmonary Clinic to meet with an Interventional Pulmonologist. He gave us a great deal more detail than we had before. He made it very clear about what the next steps are. Because we were willing to hear it, he was willing to say, “I think you have lung cancer and I think the lymph nodes are involved.” Those were not the most fun words I’ve ever heard. I much preferred “It’s a girl,” after Emma was born.

The interventional pulmonologist wrote requests for four tests to help us gain a better understanding of what we’re looking at and where we are at with it.
May 15th – PET Scan
May 18th – Pulmonary Function Test
May 18th – Brain MRI
May 19th – Bronchoscopy

The Brain MRI was clear. The PET scan showed an area of concern in the liver. The Bronchoscopy confirmed through initial biopsies that we are looking at lung cancer.

We received the pathology report of the biopsy tissue on May 22nd. Non-small cell adenocarcinoma. Of the kinds of lung cancer that it could be – this is the kind one would prefer. It’s more receptive to treatment. Can’t stage cancer on this date because additional tests will be required to examine a lesion on the liver. At this time we begin discussing a treatment program. Chemotherapy. Radiation. Possibly surgery after that. It looks like we are in for a hard summer. We realize this is the fight of our lives and it is moving very fast.

Friday, May 29th, we received a phone call from our medical oncologist (the doctor in charge of my chemotherapy plus) with the results of a blood test. The blood test shows that my cancer has a specific marker for which there is a Targeted Therapy pill available. Studies have shown that this particular pill is effective in eliminating my specific cancer. So targeted therapy is going to be added to the front line of my treatment arsenal.

On Monday, June 1st, Kath and I met for the first time with our Radiation Oncology team. The chemistry with the radiation oncologist and her staff was very good and we feel that we have the team in place.

A biopsy of the liver took place Tuesday, June 2nd. The liver biopsy came back positive for adenocarcinoma. So the lesion in my liver is the same cancer as in my lung. This is one area of spread to one somewhat distant organ. I am reclassified as stage 4.

Tumor board met to discuss my case Thursday, June 4th. The board’s recommendation is to begin with a systemic treatment plan of simultaneous applications of a targeted therapy pill (Tagrisso) and chemotherapy (carboplatin and pemetrexed) for 2 to 4, three-week cycles. The GOAL will be to limit it to 2 cycles (six weeks total) and pause for a couple of weeks and rescan to see how effective the regimen has been at eliminating the cancer. It could extend to 4 cycles, but we don’t want to plan on going there unless we have to. At that point, if we are doing well, we’ll transition to radiation and chemo to further isolate and eliminate the tumor in the lung.

We will begin treatment Friday, June 12th.