Carlos was diagnosed with non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma in April 2017 after suffering from a chronic, non-productive cough that would not go away. Doctors prescribed antibiotics to treat his cough, but nothing seemed to be working. His doctor sent him in for a chest CT, and that is when Carlos’ cancer was first detected.

For the past year, Carlos has been on a phase 1 clinical trial of a RET kinase inhibitor, which consists of taking pills twice a day.

Carlos spends his free time sailing, skiing, and reading books. He is supported by his wife, Shawn, and children, K, Alec, and Isabel.

Last August, Carlos ran into a series of complications with his diagnosis that left him in the hospital for 2 weeks. Both the level of care at the hospital and the close coordination between specialists was critical to getting him back on his feet. This is part of the reason that Carlos chose Dana-Farber initially. He appreciates the scientific excellence and patient care that the Institute provides.

Dr. Oxnard is a lung cancer expert in the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber

Besides treating lung cancer patients, Dr. Oxnard spends a lot of time on research.  His current research study includes liquid biopsies. Liquid biopsies are non-invasive blood tests that detect circulating tumor cells and fragments of tumor DNA that are shed into the blood.