Transcript

DONALEE: My name is Donalee Karinjella (phonetic spelling 0:00:04). My history with lung cancer is I was diagnosed with stage IV non-small-cell adenocarcinoma in August of 2010, and underwent whole-brain radiation since it had metastasized to my brain, and then also had stereotactic radiation on the lung tumor itself, and also was on Tarceva since I have an AGFR mutation. (0:00:39) As of April 2011, I had no activity and no lesions in the brain, and the tumor in the lung was inactive and dead. So since then I have been no evidence of disease, and we’ve also blasted out that lung tumor. (0:01:01) So I’ve been in remission since then.
DUSTY: I’m Dusty Donaldson. I live in High Point, North Carolina. I was diagnosed with stage IB lung cancer, non-small-cell adenocarcinoma, bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (or BAC). I had two-thirds of my right lung removed, and then I underwent chemotherapy, and I have been declared cured. (0:01:28) I’ve been doing activism for lung cancer pretty much since day 1. When it personally touches you, then you realize the travesty of people going through lung cancer, fighting it, and their loved ones as well. So I’ve worked with some of the national organizations, and then a couple of years ago I started my own. But I continue to work with LUNGevity and some of the other organizations as well, because it’s the same cause.
SUSAN: (0:01:59) I was diagnosed with non-small-cell adenocarcinoma about a year ago, August 9th, 2011. It is stage IV. I was actually sick for about probably three years before that, didn’t know what was going on. So by the time they diagnosed me, it was pretty advanced. It spread into my liver, adrenal glands, the left lung was totally collapsed, into my brain, and into my ribs, spine. So pretty much everywhere, and I was really sick. (0:02:29) I started with traditional chemotherapy – carboplatin, taxol – did about four rounds of that. They got stability, but it only lasted less than a month once we stopped chemotherapy. So about that time the XALKORI – the genetically targeted drug for the ALK mutation – had been released outside of clinical studies. They did the testing on me, and I did have that mutation. So in January 2012 I started that medication, and as of right now my left lung has reopened except for a little bit of scar tissue at the bottom of my left lung. (0:03:04) Adrenal tumor is gone. Liver tumors are all stable. My bone metastases are not gone, but they’re starting to try to heal, some of that is filling back in. So I’m doing really well, and that’s where I’m at right now.
MATT: My name is Matt Ellefson, and I was diagnosed with stage IIIB non-small-cell adenocarcinoma in December of 2009. (0:03:29) I underwent treatment with that, which I entered in a clinical trial at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. That treatment was successful, and my lung cancer was in remission for about a year. Then about a year ago today – actually it was a week ago, on August 31st of 2011 – I had a recurrence in some lymph nodes in my upper chest. (0:04:02) That tissue was removed and tested for gene mutation analysis, and it was discovered that I was ALK-positive. So, like Susan, I am on XALKORI – a drug that is a targeted therapy for the ALK gene mutation – and I’ve had a complete response to that. (0:04:30) I am now doing very, very well. There is no evidence of disease, and I live a happy and active lifestyle.