About a month after Gwen’s big, local ABC11 TV appearance, she had the opportunity to speak at the Lung Cancer Initiative’s Annual Meeting as their “Survivor Speaker.”
She’s on the program cover!
I felt I was tricked into attending an ANNUAL MEETING, but we got to hear a bunch of cool updates about what projects local doctors and grad students are using their grant monies to fund. It is exciting to think about the advancements that may be coming in the future! The dinner was delicious, and Gwen did a great job sharing her story. The event took place on our Mom’s birthday, so it was nice we didn’t have to make her dinner. We are super thankful for all that these doctors, researchers, and volunteers are doing for lung cancer survivors and lung cancer research.
She has recently been scanned and had a trip to Boston – all news was that she is “stable.” She continues to have minuscule spots in her lungs and a spot on her femur.
Just yesterday, she ran 4 miles outside – no small feat as the pollen has started here in NC! We are now off school for at least 2 weeks whilst we practice the art of social distancing. Please keep your immuno-compromised and elderly friends, family, and neighbors in your thoughts and prayers! Stay safe everyone!
As usual, it has been several months since our last update. Gwen has been doing well and continues her routine scans in Raleigh, eye check ups at Duke, and doctor appointments in Boston. Recently, her doctor in Boston, Dr. Shaw, has decided to start focusing more on the research side of things. This has been a little upsetting to Gwen as she will continue to go to Boston but will have to see a doctor that she knows nothing about. Dr. Shaw will still be involved in the sense that she will be checking in with the status of her former patients, etc.
If you are a regular reader, you know that Gwen has had some minuscule spots in her lungs that have been closely monitored. These spots are the return of the cancer, however, it has been determined that she is still on the best treatment plan at this time. At her most recent scans/appointments, a spot on her femur “lit up.” ‘‘Tis the season for lights and all, however this isn’t really the type of lit up we like to hear about. Overall, the scans were considered good and everything else was listed as “stable,” so the spots in the lung and the spot on the femur will continue to be monitored, and the current targeted treatment will continue.
We are spending the holiday season in NY visiting our northern friends and family. It has been warm enough for the snow to melt and for the cars and kids to get muddy and gross. Gwen participated in the Cazenovia girls basketball alumni game on the 26th. She had a great time playing against girls who were born the year she graduated from high school and who were still feeling really super competitive. She did score 4 points including a 3 from downtown (!) as evidenced by this celebratory pic:
This photo also represents our feelings, but especially Gwen’s, as we approach January 2nd, 2020, which will be her five year cancerversary! Given the 5 year survival statistics, which look extra scary due to the smokers who have lung cancer, this anniversary is an exciting milestone for our ROS-1der.
It seems that the past few times I have updated the blog, I have begun with “It has been a while since I have updated the blog…” and this is no exception. I personally have not had the best year health-wise and thus have been a bit of a slacker when it comes to updates, but as they say, “no news is good news!”
Back in March, I was able to travel with Gwen to Boston.
We had a great trip and had awesome weather for Boston in March. Gwen and I went to her appointment and then spent the day speed-walking the Freedom Trail.
Dr. Shaw was pleased with Gwen’s scans. As with previous reports, brain and abdomen were clear. Both of her lungs have several immeasurable spots that have been stable in size for several months. Since the scans have been stable, Dr. Shaw remains pleased with the current targeted treatment plan (Lorlatinib).
This past week, Gwen had another appointment in Boston. Gwen, Justin, and Callie took their time meandering up to Boston.
Again, the report was good – brain and abdomen were clear and those minuscule spots were still present but stable.
They will now be working their way on up to Maine to see the sights before heading back to NY for a few weeks.
Thank you for being such great supporters throughout Gwen’s journey (and for being patient with her slacker blogger).
It’s that time of year again! Are you aware, according to the American Cancer Society, it is projected that there will be over 234,000 new cases of lung and bronchus cancers in 2018 alone??? About 8,500 of them are expected to be in NC. Of the men and women with lung cancer, about 17.9% have never smoked.
For those of you not on Facebook and haven’t already seen, Gwen would love to help raise money for research on her specific type of lung cancer (ROS-1). Here is a link to her fundraising page: Gwen Strong – The ROS1ders .
I know it has been forever since I have written. Life has been busy and Gwen has been fairly healthy so there hasn’t been much to report! She ran in the annual LUNGe Forward 5K sponsored by the Lung Cancer Initiative of NC.
Gwen was the first female survivor to finish AND got first place for female in her age group! Justin won in his age group as well.
Here’s a shot of all the GwenStrong winners. We were well represented on “the podium.”
She had an eye appointment recently and things continue to look good there. Last week was “scan week.” I had the opportunity to travel with her to Boston. There are a few tiny nodules that are showing in her right lung. These apparently have been present on the past couple of scans, however they are so small that they were not noticed until an observant technician saw them last week and then the previous scans were pulled up to compare. However, these nodules were NOT present a year ago. Both Dr. Garst here in Raleigh and Dr. Shaw in Boston are not concerned at this time as these nodules could simply be a sign of some kind of normal inflammation that we would all occasionally get and never notice, but they will certainly be keeping a close watch on these spots over the coming months.
Other than that, the rest of her body scans were free and clear. Her brain continues to be clear of all the tumors that were present before, and Gwen is not reporting much in terms of side effects.
Doing what we do. And looking like we got up at 3:30 am just to sit in traffic…
The FDA is getting ready to approve the drug that she is getting in Boston, which is cool, but it will likely only be approved for patients with ALK lung cancer even though the drug is clearly also working for patients with ROS-1 so the FDA should stop being stingy with their approvals. At any rate, Gwen would like to stay on the trial to continue helping ROS-1 research, so she will still have to travel up to Boston but may be able to go less frequently in the not-so-distant future.
It was a lovely day in Boston and we actually got to walk around some. The picture on the left is the view from the hallway outside the drs office and the pic on the right is said hallway. Gwen and I both just really like that hallway. It looks cool.
Hello all! I realize it has been a while since my last update. Things in Gwenland have been progressing well. She has recently had an eye appointment that gave a positive report on the remnants of the eye tumor. Every scan she has had has been clear.
This Thursday, I had the pleasure of accompanying Gwen on her most recent trip to Boston. It was my first time traveling to see Dr. Shaw and I learned lots of things that I would love to share with you all just in case you were ever curious about what it is like to be Gwen and in a drug trial in Boston.
Our time together started when she picked me up to head to the airport at 4:30 am. I thought it was sure to be a good day because neither of us overslept.
Apparently, while waiting for boarding, it is a good time to do schoolwork. I personally felt that it was an un-Godly hour for doing work, but said that I was living “a day in the life of Gwen,” so we did school work until we boarded.
Jet Blue is a fairly nice ride. We caught up on our HGTV shows on the flight and got our choice of snacks and drinks. I learned that you can get multiple if you want. Gwen suggested getting juice and then a water for later but I didn’t listen to her. We also did schoolwork.
Gwen now knows all the ins and outs of getting to the hospital via public transportation. We took the silver line (bus) to the red line (subway) and were in a ton of tunnels and it was rush hour, cold, foggy, and rainy, so it was very crowded. I just followed her like a puppy dog. Our first stop was to a bagel shop down the street from the hospital where we got some delicious breakfast bagels and I purchased a water because I had not gotten one on the plane.
We then headed to the hospital for Gwen’s bloodwork appointment. Then we sat. And guess what? We did schoolwork.
Sitting and schoolworking
View from the hospital
Dr. Shaw’s appointments were running a bit behind, so I think we were finally seen a little after 11.
Gwen’s scans were clear! Dr. Shaw was super thrilled because of how very clear the scans are. The spots on her bones that have been there since the beginning are showing signs that they are still healing – which is awesome. Gwen has no signs of any side effects to the medication. The medication is hopefully going to be FDA approved some time this summer, which would mean that it would be available locally in the not-so-distant future.
Next, one of the ladies running the drug trial came in and ran an EKG (I think that’s what she was going) on Gwen.
And then we waited until about 1:00 for the medication. There was some kind of hold up in the pharmacy… so we did more schoolwork.
When all was said and done, we ended up with about 45 minutes to “explore” Boston before needing to head back to the airport. I took a bunch of pics to document the fact that A) we did actually leave the hospital that day and B) it turned into spring while we were there.
After speed walking around Boston Commons where schools like to take field trips and the Public Gardens where they love statues, we headed back to the airport. I was amused by the fact that Gwen was adept enough with the public transportation system to be able to help some other travelers at the airport. Also amusing side note: people smiled at Gwen all day – no matter where we were. Maybe it was her shirt?
We ate a quick bite at a sandwich shop at the airport and hightailed it to our gate only to find out the flight was going to take off a bit late. After a few other little mishaps (and more schoolwork on the plane), we finally got back to Raleigh about an hour late and caught the end of Lachlen’s first baseball game.
I hope you enjoyed this account of Gwen’s whirlwind Boston trips.
Hello all y’all! Lots of things have been going on over the past several weeks. Gwen is still traveling to and fro due to her participation in the drug trial in Boston. She gets her scans done here in Raleigh and meets with Dr. G. here, too, but goes to Boston to get her meds and have her blood drawn.
After her latest scans, Dr. G. was so excited she called Gwen at home to talk to her about it!
February 2016 – Gwen’s lung “cloud” first appeared.
May 2017 – Gwen’s lung “cloud” has disappeared!
Additionally, of the more than a dozen brain spots (aka “mets”), only 2 are visible in the scans!
Holla! Praise!
Her latest trip to Boston was made a little extra special when she was met at the airport by 2 of her good college friends, Kristen and Rhonda. Her friends accompanied her to the appointment where they took waiting room selfies, and it sounds like they did a bit of shopping, eating, and enjoyed their time together.
Gwen was given permission to go a whopping 9 weeks in between appointments this summer – quite a change from the usual 3. So, if you are keeping track at home, her next scans will be mid-August.
Today, we were able to celebrate Callie’s birthday with Mom and Dad who came back down from NY, Justin’s parents on their way up to NY, and several family members from VA. (According to Callie, it was the best birthday party ever).
This is Gwen and me with Uncle Kip.
Tonight was the annual NC Lung Cancer Initiative’s survivors event (the past couple of years was a breakfast, this year was an evening affair). Gwen is shown here with other survivors and also placing her handprint on the survivors’ tree.
Thank you all for your continued support, prayers, and well-wishes! They are working! We love you!
It’s been a busy week in Gwen Land. She had a spinal tap yesterday and is having some residual lower back pain and headache from that today. I went with her to Duke today so Justin could work (according to the local news, we teachers are absent too much…).
So here’s what we did while we were waiting:
Grading papers like champs…
Anyway, the first appointment at Duke this morning was literally with a Brain Surgeon. We later met with another specialist for a consultation. Being that we were at Duke, we also met with their respective interns. Between all four of those intelligent people, we heard the same thing over and over, “We don’t know what’s in your brain.” I will fight the urge to make jokes here.
Since I was not present at the appointment on Tuesday, I learned some things today. Such as: in August, Gwen’s brain scan had some spots and no one mentioned anything. Apparently, if any of us got our brains scanned right now, we could have spots show up, too. This week, what alarmed the doctors was that there were about a dozen spots and some were in the same exact location as before AND had shown growth. However, if these were indeed cancerous, the expectation would be that they would react to the contrast in the MRI, and they didn’t.
It was the opinion of all four of the people we saw today that Gwen should wait 4-6 weeks, get scanned again, and then reevaluate. Treatment options for “If these are metastases…” were discussed (biopsy/radiation, etc). Also, the brain fluids from the spinal tap will be tested for everything under the sun to try to explain the spots. They said that the spots could turn out to be nothing…
Meanwhile, in between appointments today, Gwen received a call from Dr. G’s nurse (Duke-Raleigh) who had been in contact with Dr. Shaw in Boston. (Recall, she is a ROS-1 specialist). Dr. Shaw wants to see Gwen in Boston NEXT WEEK. (See previous note about teachers and “multiple absences” and you will understand that this gave Gwen a bit of a momentary panic attack).
Gwen was able to talk to Dr. G. tonight on the phone to discuss the Duke appointments as well as the idea of going to Boston. Dr. G. and Dr. Shaw DO NOT want to wait 4-6 weeks. According to Dr. Shaw, spots in the brain that do not react to contrast is something that she sees frequently with the ROS-1 patients (this is actually a question that Gwen tried to ask the doctors at Duke – could this be a different kind of reaction because of her type of cancer. They didn’t think so, but it seems that Dr. Shaw does, and she’s the ROS-1 expert). Dr. G. REALLY wants to get Gwen up there ASAP – she doesn’t want to take chances with Gwen’s brain. Apparently, Dr. Shaw does think that these spots are concerning.
There is a drug that Dr. Shaw can get Gwen hooked up with. Gwen really doesn’t want to leave Xalkori due to the fact that her body hasn’t resisted it yet (it is still working for her lungs), but this other drug has been shown to break through the blood-brain barrier. This course of treatment would also likely mean multiple trips to Boston.
We left the appointments today thinking we had one game plan, and then within a matter of hours, it was thrown out the window!
Gwen knows that, obviously, her health is the most important thing, but we teachers are a warped breed. Sometimes our first thought isn’t “I have to take care of me,” it’s “Oh, how am I going to be absent that much and make all those sub plans and grade all those papers and how will the kids ever be ready for the State Exam??” It is irrational, exhausting, and very, very stressful.
If you are the praying type, please pray for her to find peace with her chosen course of treatment, which ever that may be, and to find peace with putting her health first! And of course pray for her health and the wisdom of her doctors. 🙂
Gwen had her latest scans yesterday. Much to the surprise of everyone, the scans came back showing no change! Gwen and Dr. Garst were both expecting to see growth in the lung cloud. The doctor said it was quite surprising, actually, that there had not been any change. Gwen had been preparing herself emotionally for a tumor to be forming and for the eventual change in medications. So, this is good news, for now. She will continue the current course of treatment (Xalkori). The rest of the scans looked good.
We were fortunate to spend Thanksgiving with our parents, my in-laws, and Gwen’s in-laws. Lots of good food and great desserts!
Our family has a tradition of going around the table (before we eat), and each person states what they are thankful for this year. Some of our “thankfuls” from the dinner table this afternoon, just to name a few:
That Gwen had a good appointment
That Gwen has such a large support system
Modern medicine
Turkey (Callie)
Family
Teachers
Then we all ate like crazy. Another tradition is to go on a walk in a feeble attempt to make room for more food.
So we walked and then came home to eat some dessert!
We thank all of you for the support and prayers that you have given to Gwen. We hope that you all have had a fabulous Thanksgiving and may God bless all of you!
Remember in my last post when I mentioned the ROS-1 specialist in Boston, Dr. Shaw? Well, Gwen got herself an appointment with her and went up to Boston. We just so happen to have a cousin up there (shout out to Liza!), so Gwen had free lodging and a chauffeur for her trip as well. Mom made the little hop from NY over to Boston to attend the appointment.
This is Gwen and sister Kristen. (A pic with Liza would have been appropriate here, but I didn’t have one with just the two of them.)
Here are the main takeaways that Mom and Gwen shared: Dr. Shaw is a genius, there are a lot of clinical trials on the horizon, cancer is complicated, Dr. Shaw and Dr. Garst will be collaborating (awesome!), Gwen will stay on the current course of treatment for now (Xalkori).
Okay, now the longer version. Remember that pesky lung cloud? On our last episode, the lung cloud was shrinking much to the excitement of the studio audience and the viewers at home. Well, it is Dr. Shaw’s opinion that the cloud of cells appear to be shrinking because they are really just becoming more concentrated and that their powers combined will become another tumor.
Now, before you get too worked up about this latest news, this is supposed to be not too upsetting… this is weird, I know.It is Dr. Shaw’s belief that Gwen’s body is resisting the Xalkori. She says that this is what happens when the resistance begins; a very slow progression (the cloud has been present since February). If a tumor forms, then it can be biopsied. If it can be biopsied, then they can test it to determine which mutation is present and therefore which medication can be used next.
So, Allisen, why did you say that she is going to stay ON the Xalkori two paragraphs ago? Gwen still feels fine and can breathe fine, so for now, it appears that the only part of her body effected is her lung. I guess we are going to hope for a tumor growth?? so they can biopsy it to help determine the second line treatment… so bizarre. Eventually, if needed, chemo will still be an option since she responded well to that the first time.
In the meantime, please consider joining Gwen’s LUNGe Forward 5K team, GwenStrong, even if you only participate from your couch. She’s harassed many of us on Facebook about it, already… The 5K takes place on September 25!
Last year’s GwenStrong team; Dr. G in the blue raincoat.
School’s out for summer! Woo hoo! And also Gwen’s scan was today. I was able to go with her (and Justin) to listen to the results this afternoon, so you all are about to receive a firsthand account as opposed to the secondhand account you’ve been getting lately.
The scans showed that the cloud is slightly more dense than last month. The rest of her organs are clear, her other lung is clear, and her bone lesions look fine. The doctor referred to her lung as “patchy” (whatever that means) and the cloudy spots as “the cancer.” The cloud patches are not contained to one lobe of the lung therefore removing a section of the lung is NOT an option.
As I mentioned in the last post, Gwen is having some wheezing when she lies on her left side. This is apparently due to mucus getting trapped in “the cloud.” She has no other problems or symptoms, therefore the doctor told her that she can go climb the highest mountain she wants to!
As far as treatment goes, they are going to stay the course. Dr. G. says the other medication options out there right now aren’t as good as what she’s on now (sounds like there’d be side effects and such) and that in another 6 months there should be a few more medications that will be FDA approved that would be better options. So it sounds like, as long as there are no problems outside the lung and no symptoms, the Xalkori is still the way to go for as long as possible.
When the doctor left the room, Gwen said to us, “So I am basically fine, right?”
Justin’s response was something like, “Well that depends on your definition of fine…”
Justin and I were thinking along the same lines… uh… You have a cancerous cloud in your lung… Not exactly what we would call fine?
But apparently Gwen had been so nervous coming into today’s appointment – she was preparing herself for the worse, so slightly more dense but all contained in the lung was “fine” in her mind.
Dr. G. wants Gwen to go away for the summer and to not be anxious about all of this (easier said than done), but she does want to see her the moment she’s back in town. So the next scan will be in August.
In the meantime, here’s to hoping for a restful summer for all of us!
Gwen and Lachlen tubing real S L O W like.
We’re looking forward to seeing our northern friends! See you soon.
gwenfightscancer 