Lysa, lung cancer survivor
My name is Lysa. I was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in September 2011 at the age of 40. At that time, I was given a two percent chance to live beyond five years.
The diagnosis came completely out of left field for me because the only noticeable health issue I had been experiencing was mild back pain, but I wrote it off as a timely and ironic welcome to my forties.
As the pain became more unbearable, I went to a local hospital for a number of tests and scans. It turned out that the cause of my back pain was cancer that had metastasized to my spine, ribs and pelvis.
I immediately began an aggressive treatment regimen with three different surgeries, ten consecutive radiation treatments and five months of chemotherapy.
In January 2013, I came to see Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada (CCCN). Soon after my first appointment with him, I had 16 new tumors in my lungs and my condition was worsening.
I had a surgery to remove a portion of my lung where the bulk of growth was occurring. Dr. Vogelzang then expedited the testing process to determine if I was eligible for a particular targeted therapy – a type of treatment that uses drugs to target specific molecules associated with tumor growth. He ran a number of tests to see if I had a specific genetic mutation based on where my tumor were growing. And, indeed I had just the mutation Dr. Vogelzang suspected – a mutation that affects less than one percent of the lung cancer population.
In May 2013, I started treatment with an FDA-approved drug for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer called Xalkori, commercially known as Crizotinib. After just three months of treatment on Crizotinib, my scans showed significant improvement.
Six months in to treatment, there was no sign of disease. And now 40-plus months in to taking Crizotinib, I remain in remission.
Today I want to help others battling the same disease. I volunteer with the American Lung Association among other groups, helping with fundraising and even meeting with political representatives to keep lung cancer top of mind and advocate for research funding.
I have come a long way since my initial diagnosis, thanks to my doctor and his entire team. I made it the five years that had, at one point, seemed so unlikely. Thanks to pure strength and incredible advancements in the treatment of lung cancer, me and so many others are looking ahead to the next five years and well beyond.