Kathryn Wright – A surreal dream

Kathryn Wright was diagnosed with three primary cancers at once: two different breast cancers and lung cancer. She shares what she calls a surreal dream.

Kathryn Wright (69) lives in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). She is a recent widow and has three children and six grandchildren.

Early in 2017, at the age of 62, Kathryn noticed a change in the shape of her left breast. She had a mammogram done in Nelspruit, South Africa which showed a small lesion. A biopsy was done, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She was referred to a breast specialist based in Johannesburg, who ordered an MRI and a CT scan which indicated that she had cancer in both breasts as well as lung cancer. “The MRI showed another lesion in my right breast and a shadow in the background. The CT scan result indicated lung cancer to which I had no symptoms at all.”

After two more biopsies, one on her right breast and the suspected lung cancer tumour, it was confirmed that Kathryn had two primary breast cancers and a primary lung cancer, meaning they were three different cancers.

The type of lung cancer that Kathryn was diagnosed with is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an ALK+ mutation.

Kathryn adds, “I only smoked when I was 18; that was a long time ago. The fact that it was found before I had symptoms I’m very grateful for; that was very lucky. I remember asking my doctors about the likelihood of having three primary cancers at once, with them saying it’s very unusual and that my case was discussed often amongst various doctors.”

Lung cancer treatment

It was decided that the lung cancer would be treated first then the two breast cancers. Thankfully Kathryn’s son stayed in Johannesburg, so she stayed with him while undergoing treatment.

She started chemotherapy for the lung cancer but after three sessions, there were no changes in the size of the nodes, so it was decided for Kathryn to undergo a lungectomy where the two lower lobes of her lung were removed.

“I don’t think I really understood the ramifications of the surgery at the time, but I do know that I insisted that they proceed. As I’m a walker I run out of breath very quickly, especially when walking uphill. My legs stop working and I have to stop and rest for two minutes to catch my breath,” she explains.

Once Kathryn recovered from the lung cancer surgery, seven weeks of radiation to the lung followed.

Breast cancer treatment

Straight after recovering from radiation to her lung, she had breast cancer surgery where two lumpectomies and reconstruction were done. Thereafter, she had a further seven weeks of radiation to her breasts.

The side effects that Kathryn encountered were hair and weight loss, and a sensitive oesophagus. “During treatment, a fair amount of my chest had to be radiated and the spill burnt my oesophagus, making eating and drinking impossible,” she explains.

Lung cancer recurrence

Kathryn was recovering well but a during a check-up it was discovered that the lung cancer had spread to her lymphatic system with a couple more nodes dotted about her chest. This means Kathryn now had Stage 4 lung cancer.

Towards the end of 2018, it was decided for her to go on a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, a targeted therapy drug. “Unfortunately, my medical aid refused to cover any part of this expensive drug but thankfully at that time the Swaziland government had a fund to support those unable to fund their medication or surgeries. For two years I was supported by this fund until it crashed and then I had to fund the medication from my own pocket,” she explains.

Since being on this targeted therapy, Kathryn has been doing well. It was only when her immune system was very weak that it was decided to stop the drug for three months in order for her immune system to recover. Within the three months of not having the medication, the nodes under scrutiny in her chest started to enlarge again. She was then put on a low-dose but still the lesions continued growing so the full dose was prescribed again. This was successful other than in two lesions. Since they were too close to her heart, surgery wasn’t an option, so this year Kathryn went for further radiation, and a very recent update is that the radiation “cooked” the two active nodes which are now showing signs of necrosis and have reduced slightly with no new activity elsewhere.

A surreal dream

Kathryn classifies her three diagnoses as a surreal dream. “I only realised how ill I was a little while ago. Up until then I just floated with the tide. But my late husband, Graham, family and friends were amazing. The support covered so many aspects, friendship, food, love, warmth, and positivity. I wouldn’t have managed to get through this without friends and Graham; he was a stalwart.”

Kathy still travels to SA for treatment and check-ups and continues to take the targeted therapy drug.

Images supplied