To NYC for a Second Opinion

Greetings friends and family, Jason here providing an update on our trip up to New York (today) for a second opinion with a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center.

For most of 2020, the decisions surrounding Lindsey’s cancer treatment were simple.  Her cancer had a driving mutation that clearly indicated Tagrisso, her targeted therapy drug, as the clear and overwhelming choice for treatment.  She could take a pill every day, treat her cancer, and not suffer the toxicities of more traditional, systemic chemo treatments.  She could keep her hair and get back to being “Lindsey The Administrator.”  But, in December of 2020, that all changed.

And with that change, we decided it was time to get connected to a large, research center where the newest trials and newest things are happening with Lindsey’s type of cancer to see what other options could be out there.  As mentioned in a December post, Lindsey had a liquid biopsy to analyze circulating tumor markers in her bloodstream.  Unfortunately, that biopsy didn’t reveal any new mutations, or any mutation that could be targetable with any current clinical trials or new therapies.  The biopsy revealed only the initial mutation as still apparent.  

With the full support of our oncologist in Greenville, we made contact with MSK in December and asked to be seen for the purpose of a second opinion, or to learn of clinical trials or novel therapies only available at the biggest research institutions.  But in December, because Lindsey’s biopsy hadn’t indicated anything new or targetable, we were asked to reach out to MSK when Lindsey neared the end of her current phase of treatment.  

So, today was the day for us to come to MSK to get their take on Lindsey’s journey.  We met with a medical oncologist whose sole area of oncology focus is Lindsey’s type of lung cancer, driven by her type of mutation.  This doctor and her team of colleagues focus primarily on how to treat lung cancer patients after they progress under treatment with Tagrisso.  She focuses on what causes the cancer to grow resistant, mutate again, etc. and is involved in trials and novel therapies to treat these resistant pathways.  We were grateful to be able to be seen by her in clinic today. 

The visit with her went well.  We felt like she really understood Lindsey’s story, really knew the significant moments of this journey, and was very engaged in evaluating Lindsey’s care plan.  Lindsey felt understood, listened to, cared for, and supported.  We discussed some possible options for future therapies but, the main summary of the visit was that she affirmed our current course of therapy as the one she’d pursue with Lindsey if Lindsey had been with her from the start.  She encouraged us to continue the current trajectory but said a value of being connected with her would likely be for future consideration and options.  I think Lindsey (and I) both feel a measure of relief for the time being knowing that we don’t have to make any sort of urgent decisions about next steps and also feel encouraged that the current course is a good course of treatment (although Lindsey is bummed to get more chemo again starting next week).

On a separate note, thanks to those of you who prayed for us and the logistics to get here.  We ended up in a bit of scramble trying to get here as we learned last night that Lindsey would need a rapid COVID test prior to being seen today.  So we tried to get on an earlier flight this morning, (even tried to get a flight out late last night).  In the end, our original itinerary worked out.  The flight arrived on time and we were able to get Lindsey to the clinic for the test almost 3 hours before her appointment.  Lindsey did have to go to her appointment alone (due to COVID restrictions), so we figured out a video phone call solution to allow me to participate.  And, truly, it worked out well and Lindsey did great navigating it all on her own.  That alone was a pretty big stressor for her/us last night and into today as we also learned that detail last night.  But, truly, today has worked out well.  

And, it was just fun for us to be in the city again.  We’ve technically been quarantined in our hotel tonight (having ordered dinner in) but enjoyed walking the city to and from her appointments today.  There’s nothing like NYC, in my opinion.  This has always been a happy place for us to visit, historically.  We’ve shared some memories here so it’s been fun to reminisce and be here together again.  

Until next time, thanks for the continued prayer and support.