Lung Cancer Diagnosis Was Just the Start for Boca Raton Man

Eight years ago, Jordan Meyerson had an abdominal scan as part of his treatment for diverticulosis. The scan revealed something else, too: Mr. Meyerson had stage 4 metastatic lung cancer.

The diagnosis was a shock for the then-52-year-old, who lives in Boca Raton with his wife and son. “In addition to the abdominal pain from diverticulitis, I also had a chronic cough that had been diagnosed as bronchitis,” he says.

Mr. Meyerson went to see oncologist Harold Richter, M.D., an oncologist and hematologist in Delray Beach, who referred him to Matthen Mathew, M.D., a medical oncologist at the Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health, at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Dr. Mathew eventually referred him to his colleague, oncologist Edgar Castillo D’Andreis, M.D., who specializes in the treatment of lung cancer and other types of cancer.

Edgar Castillo D’Andreis, M.D., oncologist at the Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health, at Boca Raton Regional Hospital

Diagnosed with ALK-positive lung cancer

“When I first saw Mr. Meyerson earlier this year, he had been undergoing treatment for stage 4 metastatic lung adenocarcinoma,” Dr. Castillo recalls. Complicating his diagnosis, Mr. Meyerson had had other serious problems related to his lungs, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia.

After undergoing a biopsy and genomic testing, it was determined that Mr. Meyerson had a genetic mutation for ALK positive lung cancer. “ALK-positive” refers to the rearrangement of the EML4 gene and the ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) gene in the DNA, a mutation that may result in uncontrolled cell replication, or cancer.

A long and difficult cancer journey

Over the past eight years, Mr. Meyerson has been treated with a variety of drugs, including Crizotinib, Alectinib, Brigatinib, Lorlatinib and four cycles of carboplatin/pemetrexed. These medications help fight cancer but can come with serious side effects, including hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular problems, seizures, hyperglycemia and pneumonitis, among others.

“I’ve lost both adrenal glands and had the cancer spread to my liver. I’ve had countless bouts with bronchitis and pneumonia and been hospitalized around 15 times,” says Mr. Meyerson. Even so, his cancer treatment has worked and he now has had “NED” (No Evidence of Disease) for the past four years.

Dr. Castillo says he is glad to see his patient is doing fine after such a difficult journey. “He has an incurable disease and relapse/progression is expected at some point but the disease is controlled for now and Mr. Meyerson has been able to return to normal activities.”

“My cancer is not gone and I am not ‘cured,’ but I’m alive and I’m able to be with my family and live my life,” says Mr. Meyerson, who says he is a family man and dedicated to making sure his family is taken care of. He continues to see Dr. Castillo every two months and has nothing but gratitude for the staff at Lynn Cancer Institute.

The power to keep on fighting

“From doctor visits to bloodwork, scans, and MRIs, I always feel like family is there to greet me at Lynn,” Mr. Meyerson says. “From the day of my diagnosis, they were there for my wife and me. The therapist held my wife’s hand walking us through my initial diagnosis.”

Mr. Meyerson’s experience taught him that no cancer is alike, because no two cancer patients are alike and treatments vary depending on the types of genes patients have. “When I was first treated at Lynn Cancer Institute, I felt like I was not going to last until the end of the year. But with the knowledge of the doctors, nurses, social workers and staff there, I’ve learned that knowledge is power and boy do I have the power to keep fighting.”