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085: Neal Augenstein survived Stage IV lung cancer | targeted therapy | tagrisso | osimertinib
Neal Augenstein Description
It is not easy to survive Stage IV lung cancer, but through targeted therapy, and the medication tagrisso, Neal Augenstein went on the @CancerInterviews podcast to confirm that it can be done.
In September of 2022, Neal Augenstein, a reporter at a radio station in Washington, DC, found himself coughing more than normal. At first he chalked it up to seasonal allergies, but when over-the-counter remedies did nothing, he went to a doctor who prescribed antibiotics, which did no good.
About two months later, Neal got a chest x-ray. A doctor said the x-ray revealed “something suspicious,” and suggested Neal get a CT scan. A pulmonologist told Neal he needed to check into a hospital.
Neal underwent a bronchoscopy and a biopsy, which is when he learned he had lung cancer. If there was any good news from this diagnosis, it was that doctors said Neal’s cancer would respond well to targeted therapy, enabling him to avoid chemotherapy and radiation.
Neal is quick to add that is not, and never has been, a smoker. Both his parents smoked, so he has no doubt in his youth he inhaled plenty of second hand smoke, but his research showed he was one of a growing number of healthy, relatively-young people diahnosed with advanced lung cancer, in most cases a non-small cell lung cancer. He also learned biomarker testing can detect the more common adenocarcinoma mutations out there. And that there are different targeted therapies for those types of mutations.
In Neal’s case, the drug osimertinib, also known as tagrisso, has been shown to be very effective. Additional probing by Neal showed that people in their seventies had been diagnosed with lung cancer, taken tagrisso, and lived long lives. Neal’s oncologist said Neal probably could have weathered the nasty side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, but Neal was happy to address his lung cancer with one pill a day of tagrisso.
Three months later, a CT scan revealed almost all of the cancer was gone from his lungs and lymph nodes. His oncologist said Neal Augenstein should seriously consider surgery to remove the tumor that was the source of his diagnosis. Neal said if the tagrisso was doing such a good job, why have this surgery? The oncologist said such a procedure would remove virtually all doubt of his lung cancer ever returning.
In April of 2023, Neal underwent the surgery, and incredibly, he was home the next day. He credits the tagrisso, but a month later, his chronic coughing went away.
In a way it sounds hard to believe, but in retrospect, Neal benefited from his cancer being labeled Stage IV. That positioned him to take the tagrisso, which had a minimum amount of side effects. Neal says he was told if he had been diagnosed Stage III, the standard of care would have been chemotherapy and radiation.
These days, Neal Augenstein feels fine. He coughs occasionally, but says it is a small nuisance, and nothing compared to what other cancer patients experience.
By way of advice, Neal says if you have the opportunity to get a lung cancer screening to follow through on it. He says if you shows your lung are in good shape, that’s great, but if anything is revealed that merits further testing, better to learn it now than six months from now or six years from now.
Additional Resources:
A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation
https://www.abreathofhope.org
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By Jim Foster
5
22 ratings
Neal Augenstein Description
It is not easy to survive Stage IV lung cancer, but through targeted therapy, and the medication tagrisso, Neal Augenstein went on the @CancerInterviews podcast to confirm that it can be done.
In September of 2022, Neal Augenstein, a reporter at a radio station in Washington, DC, found himself coughing more than normal. At first he chalked it up to seasonal allergies, but when over-the-counter remedies did nothing, he went to a doctor who prescribed antibiotics, which did no good.
About two months later, Neal got a chest x-ray. A doctor said the x-ray revealed “something suspicious,” and suggested Neal get a CT scan. A pulmonologist told Neal he needed to check into a hospital.
Neal underwent a bronchoscopy and a biopsy, which is when he learned he had lung cancer. If there was any good news from this diagnosis, it was that doctors said Neal’s cancer would respond well to targeted therapy, enabling him to avoid chemotherapy and radiation.
Neal is quick to add that is not, and never has been, a smoker. Both his parents smoked, so he has no doubt in his youth he inhaled plenty of second hand smoke, but his research showed he was one of a growing number of healthy, relatively-young people diahnosed with advanced lung cancer, in most cases a non-small cell lung cancer. He also learned biomarker testing can detect the more common adenocarcinoma mutations out there. And that there are different targeted therapies for those types of mutations.
In Neal’s case, the drug osimertinib, also known as tagrisso, has been shown to be very effective. Additional probing by Neal showed that people in their seventies had been diagnosed with lung cancer, taken tagrisso, and lived long lives. Neal’s oncologist said Neal probably could have weathered the nasty side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, but Neal was happy to address his lung cancer with one pill a day of tagrisso.
Three months later, a CT scan revealed almost all of the cancer was gone from his lungs and lymph nodes. His oncologist said Neal Augenstein should seriously consider surgery to remove the tumor that was the source of his diagnosis. Neal said if the tagrisso was doing such a good job, why have this surgery? The oncologist said such a procedure would remove virtually all doubt of his lung cancer ever returning.
In April of 2023, Neal underwent the surgery, and incredibly, he was home the next day. He credits the tagrisso, but a month later, his chronic coughing went away.
In a way it sounds hard to believe, but in retrospect, Neal benefited from his cancer being labeled Stage IV. That positioned him to take the tagrisso, which had a minimum amount of side effects. Neal says he was told if he had been diagnosed Stage III, the standard of care would have been chemotherapy and radiation.
These days, Neal Augenstein feels fine. He coughs occasionally, but says it is a small nuisance, and nothing compared to what other cancer patients experience.
By way of advice, Neal says if you have the opportunity to get a lung cancer screening to follow through on it. He says if you shows your lung are in good shape, that’s great, but if anything is revealed that merits further testing, better to learn it now than six months from now or six years from now.
Additional Resources:
A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation
https://www.abreathofhope.org