By now you know that WTOP’s Neal Augenstein has been keeping us up-to-date on his lung cancer journey.
Just over a year ago — in November 2022 — Neal was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. After one-pill-a-day targeted therapy and a lobectomy, he’s been cancer-free since April 2023.
Now, Neal’s received the results of a new test he took for the first time that can provide some clues of what his future treatment, and perhaps prognosis, will be.
He joined WTOP’s John Aaron and John Domen to explain. Read and listen to their conversation below:
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Neal Augenstein: This test is called a liquid biopsy. It’s done by a blood draw — the same as if you’re getting your cholesterol checked. It’s looking to see whether I have any lung cancer cells remaining in my bloodstream. And the good news is the answer is no.
John Domen: That’s great news — but you’ve also told us that with stage 4, you may never hear the phrase, “You’re cured.” So, how does this jibe with that?
Neal Augenstein: This liquid biopsy will figure into my future treatment. As you know, I have CT scans every three months, which have not shown anything suspicious. This liquid biopsy is one more tool.
The cool thing is it looks even farther down the road than the CT scan, which can show tumors down to 2 or 3 millimeters. This is taking a real-time look at my DNA.
You’ll remember my targeted therapy zooms in on the exact kind of cancer I have, which is called EGFR. And, even though the pill is very effective in shrinking and preventing tumors, the drug typically stops working, and cancer can come back.
That’s why I had the upper lobe of my left lung removed — the thought being that getting rid of the lobe where it started minimizes the risk of cancer returning.
So, this liquid biopsy is taking this real-time snapshot of my DNA. If it showed any EGFR, that would indicate my targeted therapy had stopped working. And, we could move onto one of several other treatments, even before anything showed up on a CT scan.
Thankfully, it showed no EGFR or any other mutations. So, at this moment I remain cancer-free, feeling terrific, still taking my targeted therapy, and looking forward to lots more aggressive screening in the future.
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