On the left is an empanada. A savory Argentinian pastry. In the middle and on the right is an empyema. A serious infection in the pleural space (you can see the pus in the tube coming from that area). I have only the latter.

If the straw in my water bottle was my pleural catheter, and the outside of the bottle is my right chest wall, and somewhere under the water is my lung. Somehow the straw and water got infected.

July 28-30 we added chemo back to the mix. In December the team had grown organoids ‘mini tumors’ from my sample and etoposide scored highly as active chemo. It’s not an awful drug - but it’s 3 consecutive days and you lose your hair. So that was last week

It was a wild week. I knew I had the pleural effusion building up but on Friday I developed this right flank pain. I controlled it with simple analgesics but by Sunday it was making me vomit. Short story- I had right ureteric compression. My right kidney was swelling like tom and Jerry’s hosepipe

Swinging, Baby! Way better after fluid drained

Surgeon, scientist, drug developer, program leader - she’s got it all

The difference between the left and right is 10 days and 1.7 liters drained from my right lung. They don’t look different (my right is on the left as you look) because the fluid built up again quickly. I’m fine at rest but changing position makes me cough. Plan is a more permanent drain due soon.

Sometimes I have to coax the learning from my guests. Encourage them to reveal what others can gain from their experiences. For Nora I just sat back and let her do her thing. Magnificent 😊

To mark Father’s Day I learned how to make jewelry and today gave each of my daughters a sterling silver ring I’d made for them. Then we had dinner and watched Toy Story 5 at the movies. Simple pleasures, shared time.

For some reason this made my day 😂

After multiple requests from various people I let myself be a guest on my own podcast with Dr Erin Schenk as guest host. She dug deeper and in different directions than others

The very talented Lisa Goldman sent me this watercolor earlier this year. She chose a poppy as they grow in disturbed ground and are beautiful. The sentiment is true for all of us, a diagnosis of cancer might emphasize this but it doesn’t own this thought

A tale of two tkis. Lorlatinib prevents new brain Mets. Based on intracranial Duration of Response neladalkib (admittedly in later line) doesn’t show the same flat line. Anti-ntrk’s cns protective effect separate from driver oncogene status is writ large. Still hiding in plain sight

The ASCO conference started with an advisory board. As an ‘activity’ we got to use labeled legos to plan future drug combinations. I built a pirate ship 🏴‍☠️

She and I had talked about the paradoxical strength that comes through vulnerability, based on my own experiences. I was so honored to host her as she took it to the max in this episode.

Charles Blanke has had an astonishing life - a leader in targeted therapy for a rare gastric cancer subtype, a champion of Oregon’s leading Medical Aid in Dying practices and, most recently, head of the SWOG cooperative group

A brave road warrior, my 2009 blubaru, went off today, donated to Feed the Children. She will be sorely missed for her grinding gears, stallability and indefatigable patience…

Coming to the end of my family and work trip. Started with scattering my mum’s ashes at Crail in Scotland with my brother and ended with visiting my dad’s grave in Teddington, Greater London. Good goodbyes.

Through Matt’s case so many breakthroughs were illustrated. Molecular diagnosis, targeted therapy, ALK pemetrexed hypersensitivity, acquired resistance, rechallenge response, oligoprogression and local therapy, management of long term side effects, hope.

Grand Rounds at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Last time I was here I was a junior doctor from the Oxford University Medical School. This time I could tell a 16 year lung cancer survivor’s story and in the process change hearts and minds about what it means to live with this disease.

Getting ready for first talk at Oxford Department of Oncology. “The new world of lung cancer care”

The highs and lows of Scottish cuisine in Edinburgh today.

Crail Harbour, North of Edinburgh, Scotland. Where my mother spent her summer holidays and where she now rests.

Whistle stop tour. First leg: HOPE Summit in Dallas. I was told to make my keynote lecture Western themed, so somehow I weaved together lung cancer with my Dad’s favorite John Wayne movie. 🤪

This last weekend was our 2026 survivors celebration. Everyone at least 5 years out from their lung cancer diagnosis gets invited. I’m only 4 years but as I’m the director of the program I think I get my invite through other criteria 😘

Thanks to the CU Medical Oncology Division for honoring me with their Exceptional Translational Research Award 2026. 😊

Rob Meguid grew up surrounded by surgery. He watched his father operate when he was nine. He shouldered the brute force training and then he lost everything. How do you come back from that?

The steward behind one of Canada’s largest cancer charities takes us through money in, money out and money leveraged for maximum good.

Sometimes celebrities pass by and you just have to stop and stare. Gigi was just such a cat. Her human, Reagan, is the daughter of one of my first patients and for years calendars of Gigi dressed in high fashion raised funds for lung cancer research and everyone’s spirits.