To bring you up to speed and to put everyone on the same page,

Lindsey was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in early January 2020. She has a form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) known as lung adenocarcinoma and we’ve been told it is incurable. Her disease has presented with a lung mass in her left, upper lobe, involved lymph nodes in her mediastinum (around her heart in the middle of her chest), and has spread to bones in her body, mostly in bones from her hips to her shoulders. We thank God that cancer has not spread to her brain, liver, or adrenal glands.

Over the last three weeks we’ve experienced a gamut of emotions. We’ve experienced the trauma of a diagnosis, the confusion of what seems like a surreal reality, devastation before God, gratitude for some favorable test results and scans in the midst of this diagnosis, and the potential of hope with a relatively new targeted therapy drug available to Lindsey. We’ve cried, we’ve moved toward one another, we’ve grieved alone, we’ve been angry, we’ve celebrated, we’ve been afraid, we’ve worshiped, we’ve laughed, we’ve hoped, etc. etc.

Fortunately, Lindsey’s cancer is specifically characterized by a genetic mutation known as an EGFR mutation. Not all lung adenocarcinomas are characterized by this mutation but Lindsey’s is. (EGFR stands for epidermal growth factor receptor). Though it sounds like jibberish to us, having an EGFR mutation is apparently a good thing, relatively speaking. It’s good because EGFR mutations are fairly well understood by cancer researchers and, because of that, there is now a type of drug in it’s third generation/iteration designed to disrupt these receptors from telling the body to make more of these cancer cells. It also means Lindsey is able to receive a treatment called targeted therapy and not chemotherapy. This targeted therapy drug, called Tagrisso, is given daily in pill form and has been proven for some people to effectively disrupt the progression of this cancer. For this, we are extremely grateful and hope we can see results in Lindsey with her specific type of lung cancer. And, because this targeted therapy primarily only “targets” the mutation of these receptors and not all rapidly dividing cells in her body (like chemotherapy), side effects are expected to be minimal. So far, Lindsey has only shown physical improvement while on the drug and hardly any (if any) side effects. We are so incredibly grateful.