Natasha’s update: surgery for stage 4 EGFR+ lung cancer while on osimertinib
Natasha first shared her story with us in 2025. She’s a teacher who loves the outdoors, her family and their two dogs, and yoga is what keeps her calm. She was diagnosed with EGFR+ lung cancer in 2022 after a constant cough, a croaky voice and fatigue that wouldn’t go away. She was first misdiagnosed with tuberculosis, and by the time surgery was an option, the cancer had spread to her brain.
A lot has happened since last Lung Cancer Awareness Month. She’s had a lobectomy, her lung has collapsed twice, she’s had fifteen rounds of radiotherapy and changes to her brain mets, and she’s now waiting on the results of her latest CT scan.
When she was diagnosed, Natasha was told her cancer was incurable and inoperable. That changed at the end of October, when she had a lobectomy. As far as she and her team know, she’s the first woman in the UK to have one while on osimertinib and after the cancer had spread to her brain.
“I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to have the top right lobe of my lung removed, as it has drastically reduced my tumour burden.”
Recovery was tough. The osimertinib had left her lung tissue scarred and fragile, so air leaked from her lung, it collapsed twice, and she had a chest drain for about a month. During the operation, surgeons found her lung was stuck to her ribs, and a nerve to her vocal cords was cut.
“Despite all this, I would jump at the chance to have this surgery again.”
“I continue to live with hope. I feel incredibly lucky that I have such a dedicated team looking after me, and I hope that with each day that goes by, more treatment lines will be made available.”
The tests after surgery showed some cancer cells were still there, so she had fifteen rounds of radiotherapy to her sternum. She can’t drive because of her brain mets, so her friends took turns driving her to appointments.
“I became a regular at the hospital’s Costa Coffee!”
She came off osimertinib for a couple of months to let her body heal. One of her brain mets grew a little in that time, then shrank again once she was back on it.
A couple of months after surgery, Natasha was back doing yoga. She’s now started yoga teacher training and wants to specialise in yoga for people with cancer. After six months of not being allowed to fly because of the risk of pneumonitis, she’s had three holidays abroad since August.
When Natasha was diagnosed, she was told surgery wasn’t an option. Nearly four years later, she’s had the operation, she’s back on the yoga mat, and she’s training to teach.
