A Tagrisso Trailblazer: My Friend Nova’s Impact on Lung Cancer Research

I read about remarkable findings from a study on a lung cancer drug, Tagrisso, presented at the 2023 ASCO conference this week and felt incredibly proud of my best friend, Nova. A never-smoker, Nova was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in January of 2014. At the time, the drug was being studied in a Phase 1 clinical trial. We were told that the patients whom the drug had been tested on were mostly White, educated, men. Nova was the polar opposite; a tiny Filipina, who had been orphaned as a girl, and had little education. Participating in a clinical trial was seriously scary to her. She told me she wasn't brave, hated pain, worried about side effects, and didn’t think she had the energy to fight her cancer. Nova was also grieving and questioning whether she wanted to live. Her 11-year-old son, Amiel, had died from choking on a cookie, six weeks before her diagnosis.   

I was told Nova wouldn't live three months because her cancer had spread to both lungs, her spine, brain, liver, and bones. Her primary care doctor suggested hospice, but Nova was only 42. Her surviving son was just a second grader and her loving husband refused to give up. He begged her to try the experimental drug. She agreed, for them.  

Getting Nova’s tumors biopsied and tested was a nightmare. The local hospital and the pathology lab kept messing up. At the time, the level of genetic testing was new for our semi-rural area of NJ. All the mistakes delayed Nova’s treatment and made us anxious and impatient. When we finally got the results on what kind of mutation she had, an oncologist at Memorial Sloane Kettering in NYC suggested surgery for a large tumor in her arm, and an experimental treatment with a new tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Instead of going in for chemo infusions, Nova would take a pill on her own every day at home. Nova couldn’t see how a single pill could make that much of a difference but agreed to try.  

To everyone’s relief, all of Nova’s tumors shrank by half within the first three months. Nova lived 6.5 years longer and we’re deeply thankful for every single day. She got to watch her son grow up, go to his soccer and basketball games, and deliver his middle school Distinguished Scholars project on the chocolate industry. The family was also able to go on vacation back to the Philippines. Pictures of their phenomenal two-week adventure still grace the walls of their home. Besides helping herself, Nova felt good when we joked about her being a sort of medical pioneer, a Filipina Laura Ingalls, paving the way for other women, especially Asians with lung cancer. I can only imagine how excited she would have been to have learned about the latest study results on Tagrisso. Nova was always helping others and her willingness to participate in a clinical trial is just another part of my extraordinarily brave and beautiful friend's grace and legacy to all of us. Thank you, Nova! 

~ Vicky Que - VP Content Strategy SHR

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