How Others See The Effects Of My TKI

What has prolonged my life after having advanced stage 4 non-small cell ALK-positive lung cancer? Do I only owe it to my cancer doctors? How about research? Much more to clinical trials? They all play a part in my journey especially my TKI (Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor).

TKIs are oral pills that only attack specific types of cancer cells while not damaging the normal cells. They indeed block cancer growth. TKIs are indeed the powerful cancer treatment options for more than three decades.

In the eyes of my family

As I journey through my illness, I am surrounded by a husband, two adult children, a son-in-law, a high schooler, and a baby grandson. Not to mention my Dad, siblings, and in-laws. All of them could not believe a non-smoker like me would end up having lung cancer. I got to let them be aware that anyone with lungs can have lung cancer. They are thankful how my treatment is so effective and with manageable side effects. For them, TKI is a miracle drug because I can still enjoy a normal life.

Science amazes my church group

There are cancer survivors in my church who have been my inspiration. They were the ones who had reached out to me first. I was happy to feel I was not alone. Just like my family, they are amazed at my TKI journey. The one thing that got them interested was how a TKI can hit both primary and secondary cancers. I told them TKIs are the breakthrough treatments in lung cancer.

My dear friends take on my TKI

Now that Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have been lifted, I'm beginning to see my friends again. You get to chat and mingle, of course with still masked on and social distancing. Hugging is still not on but elbow to elbow is. Most of them say I look great. They are happy to see me up and about especially enjoying being a grandma. I let them know that my TKI is really doing its job so far, targeting only my cancer cells and ignoring my normal cells.

Amazement of my relatives

I am far from my close relatives that due to the pandemic visiting them is not a wise decision. The health protocols changes depending on Covid-19 cases. Thanks to Zoom and other phone apps we can still communicate and update one another. Most of my relatives were shocked when they received the news of my diagnosis. They are amazed how my TKI is responsible for my prolonged life.

I am happy the circle of people in my life has been touched by the works of science. As I live with my illness, I will spread awareness so people around me will appreciate the tireless efforts and works of the researchers to come up with and improve different lung cancer treatments such as the TKIs. Hope governments allot more funds to lung cancer research so more patients could taste life longer or make their life better.