A Happy Quarterly Report 01/01/2026

1. Results

Stable, baby, stable. That follows scans from September, which I forgot to tell you about, and which were also stable.

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2. Notes On The Tests: “I am not drinking that stuff.”

September tests included something new and exciting (not). I was asked to show up an hour early. WTF? Chest scans take about 42 seconds; this was something new. I got to the CT department and learned I’d be having oral and venous contrast because I was also having abdominal scans.

Yippee.

The oral contrast turned out to be a bottle, not a couple of big cups of liquid. They said, several times, “drink as much as you can,” then left.

O M G

O M F G

Let me just say, I asked if people threw up in that waiting room when they drank the stuff and they said Yes.

Let me also say, Never again.

So when the most recent (December) scan notes showed an arrival time of an hour prior to the scan, I got on the phone, made multiple calls. Call 1, Dr. Oncology’s office: You have to call the testing facility. Call 2, testing facility: no order for an abdominal scan. Call 3, Dr. Oncology’s office: yes, there would be an abdominal scan and if the order called for contrast, then too bad so sad. Me: please call the testing center to clarify the orders. Call 4, from testing center: I could bring Crystal Light packets to add to the liquid. (Have you seen Ted Lasso? I channeled Roy Kent, whose favorite word begins with F in my response.)

I brought Crystal Light, strawberry-flavored. (Who would want to ruin lemonade flavor?)  Two big cups appeared. The technician cocked her head at me, puzzled: “Most people think it tastes like water.” And, thank God, it did.

I’m never going back to the first testing facility.

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3. The New Dr. Oncology, AKA Dr. Oncology 2

Brilliant. Highly respected by peers. Doesn’t like that there’s a smarmy (IMO) image of her with a patient riding around on the side of the city buses. (Source: her assistant.)

But the image is oddly accurate in terms of actual interactions with patients. Our little support group, many of whom have found their way to Dr. Oncology 2’s office, shake our heads at her exceptionally intellectual bedside manner. It’s like someone taught her: Now, reach out the shake hands. Throughout the conversation, be sure to gaze– intently– at the patient to demonstrate concern. Modulate your tone to indicate calm and objectivity. 

Where Dr. Oncology 1’s affect was warm and caring I sometimes felt she underplayed the more research-based information I sought. In our goodbye session, I assured her I understood it would be a different kind of relationship with Dr. Oncology 2; that I would be the one who adjusted communication styles because that’s not how Dr. Oncology 2 rolls.

I left my December appointment with Dr. Oncology 2 feeling a little let down– I felt no emotional connection. I also wasn’t prepared to ask questions in a way that would get the specific answers I wanted. In fact, she gently intimated that she’d answered one question last time– nope, didn’t feel a pang of stupidity at all– and I didn’t follow up because I hadn’t clarified in my mind exactly how to push for the answer I wanted. Jeez. I’ll be better prepared in March.

She did encourage me to be upfront about my own stretch of stable results. She feels people need hope. Me, I feel guilty and don’t want to make people feel bad. Some folks are just so sick…. Stupid lung cancer.  But I’m thinking about what she said.

And, I confirmed that she was including abdominal scans to monitor for progression. (Adrenal glands can be so appealing to metastases.) She seemed slightly horrified at my story of the oral contrast and immediately turned to type into her notes: No Oral Contrast. (I could read it from where I sat.) But you can bet I’ll keep a close eye on the orders for the March scans.

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4. Good News!

New Information about Exercise and Cancer

I’ve been watching reports of the news research about the impact of exercise on cancer. This is pretty significant. Reading these articles reminded me of how, about two or three years in, Dr. Oncology 1 said she thought my exercise had a direct impact on the status of my cancer, but couldn’t really offer anything but her observation. Here’s a folder of the articles.

The folder includes:

• Gregory, A. (2025, June 1). Exercise ‘better than drugs’ to stop cancer returning after treatment, trial finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/01/exercise-better-than-drugs-after-cancer-treatment-international-trial-finds

For Lung Cancer Folks with Exon 20 Mutations

12/18/2025 From Marcia Horn, JD, Executive Director of the Exon 20 Group/Exon 20 Warriors

“Subcutaneous amivantamab/RYBREVANT is now approved across all ami/RYBREVANT indications!

That means PAPILLON (ami plus the chemo doublet), MARIPOSA (ami plus lazertinib), plus our second-line ami/RYBREVANT approval dating from May 21, 2021–all can be subcutaneous!” 

OK, that’s about it from me. Thanks for reading, and if you’re around at the end of February, stop in for a fat slice of cake. We’ll be celebrating me being alive for five years after being diagnosed which, it turns out, is not that common.