To My New Friends

Over the last ten years I have prided myself in being as helpful as I can to those newly diagnosed. I have been called, texted, tagged etc. asking for me to talk to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer. It’s not always lung cancer but that is what I know best.

Questions I ask new lung cancer friends

I have decided to type out a few things that I often ask and why, when I first meet my new friends.

Have you had biomarker testing?

If they have been diagnosed with lung cancer I ask if they have had biomarker testing. Why is this important? Biomarker testing will tell you if the cancer has a targetable mutation that can be treated with sometimes less harsh treatments.

In my experience my tumor came back EGFR+ and I started a targeted therapy and later we found another targetable mutation, MET amplification. After many treatments we found the correct one and as of right now I am considered NED.

Where are you receiving treatment?

Where are you being treated? If the person is local to me, I suggest that they find a second opinion in the city.

Our local hospital is great at diagnosing but not so great after that. If they are already seeing someone considered to be top in the field, we move to the next question.

Do you have support?

Who do you have to help you? For me I had my sister, parents, and boyfriend (now husband). It is important to have a team of people who can help drive to appointments, sit with you, make sure you eat etc.

My parents made sure I got to appointments. I remember my dad taking me to my daily radiation appointments and feeling like I was in a race car!

Mom also made sure I ate and distracted me during the day when I was off work. My sister helped with the medical jargon and navigating the different hospitals that I would end up going to.

I’ve been treated at 4 different hospitals over the last 10 years. My boyfriend kept me grounded and distracted me when I needed it the most. He proposed and we have been married for 7 years!

Do you have something to look forward to?

The last question that I ask is what do you have planned to look forward to? When you are first diagnosed you need to have something planned to look forward to. It can be small.

I am planning on going to the grocery store to pick up my favorite ice cream or on Tuesday I am having lunch with my favorite person. When you get to be a little further out from your diagnosis you can plan for medium things like buying tickets to see your favorite band in concert. My favorite artist is Andrew McMahon, and I am seeing him in September!

After that you can graduate to planning your bucket list dream vacation. My sister and I have planned quite a few vacations over the last few years including a few cruises, Disney World, and for our 40th birthday we went to Ireland.

Remember to take life in digestible pieces. If you cannot see past tomorrow, look at today.