Hi my name is Leslie.

I am a 63-year-old male who love to practice Tai Chi.

In March of 2015 I was diagnosed with stage 4 (NSCLC) ALK Positive mutation lung cancer. 3% of all long cancers are one of the three types of mutation. ALK is 3% of those mutations.

I worked with my oncologist to get the best treatment that was available at that time (crizotinib). I lasted two years before the cancer metastasized to my brain. I changed to (alectinib) it lasted 5 years and then the brain cancer came back. I underwent Cyber knife radiation in 2019 and that worked until 2021 when I had seizures and then a stroke. I ended up in the hospital and was told that the brain cancer was back. I had Leptomeningeal disease, a cancer that spread to the cerebrospinal fluid around the brain and spinal cord. I was not expended to live very long. I was sent home in very bad shape. I was very lucky that the 3rd generation ALK inhibitor chemo drug was available (lapatinib). After a week taking the drug, I started to come out of my fog and started to be myself. It was a long road to recovery. I had to overcome aphasia and deal with some memory loss. I am doing well and enjoying the time I spend with my family and friends.

Thank you for listening to my story.

ALK Positive has help me over the last 2 years with information. and there many services. Money is needed for research so that there is a next generation drug available to ALK positive people, for when the ALK mutations outsmarts the lapatinib. In 2022, I managed to keep a promise to my son and see him graduate high school. I would like to see him graduate college. And do I dare dream to see him get married. Only by the development of the next generation ALK drug can that happen.

Please donate whatever you can to help all AKL positive patients live their dreams.