Un diagnóstico de cáncer de pulmón llegó de repente para Emma Pompeo. Pero afortunadamente, ella tenía dos cosas a su favor: apoyo de su familia cuando aprendió de su diagnóstico y encontró a un doctor en un centro de cáncer comprensivo que podía contestar sus preguntas en español para que ella y su familia pudieran entender toda la nueva información. Su doctor le explicó bien sobre los biomarcadores de cáncer de pulmón, organizó los exámenes requeridos, y dio buenas recomendaciones de otros doctores quienes ayudaron a formar su equipo de salud. Estos diálogos eran increíblemente importantes mientras ella aprendía el nuevo vocabulario que es parte del diagnóstico de cáncer de pulmón y del tratamiento apropiado.

INVITADOS

Dr. Christian Rolfo es un Oncólogo Torácico y experto en oncología molecular, biopsias líquidas y desarrollo de nuevos fármacos en el ámbito de cáncer de pulmón y mesotelioma en el centro de Oncología Torácica de Mount Sinai.

Emma Pompeo está viviendo con EGFR cáncer de pulmón. Ella dedica tiempo a ser una luchadora para pacientes, apoyando a otros en su experiencia con cáncer de pulmón.

Notas del Programa | Transcripción

What if your lung cancer doctor could get a huge amount of information about your health, how you might respond to different treatments, and possibly even be able to tell you the best diet for your specific needs, all based on a simple test that involves no needles, no surgery, no special preparation, just a small sample… of your stool. That’s the potential of studying the gut microbiome. Find out why some of LCFA’s Young Investigators are so excited about including the gut microbiome in the fight against lung cancer.

Guests

Dr. Jarushka Naidoo Dr. Daniel Spakowicz Dr. Zoltan Loinai

Dr. David Carbone, The Ohio State University

Show Notes | Transcription

The immune effect of the microbiome on lung cancer may be due to specific compositions of both lung and gut microbiomes. Three of LCFA’s Young Investigator grant recipients are continuing this study of gut microbiome and lung cancer, Dr. Jarushka Naidoo, Dr. Daniel Spakowicz, and Dr. Zoltan Lohinai.

Discovering whether a patient’s gut health plays a role in determining the benefits – or, conversely, the harm – of immunotherapy treatment. Until now, there has been scant research connecting gut health with both cancer diagnoses and treatment protocols.

The LCFA Young Investigator Grants are designed to help researchers look at lung cancer in new and creative ways, always with an eye toward finding better treatments that help people live longer and healthier lives.Familiarizing the practicing clinician with the experimental methods used to generate the information that will likely impact the field of lung cancer, helping to understand gut microbiome in lung cancer treatment.

As Dr. Daniel Spakowicz says, “in general, collecting somebody’s poop before they start a treatment is not a commonly done practice right now, and it tends to be sort of icky to some people. And that’s the essence of what we want to change.”

If you had to guess what a personal trainer, a die-hard runner, and a healthful vegetarian have in common, you would probably never guess "lung cancer." But far more than their diagnosis, these three guys are connected by the strength they find in their families, the openness and vulnerability they share in talking about their diagnosis, and the focus they put on reaching other men who, like them, are also learning how to live with lung cancer. 

Guests:

Speakers Bureau members James Hiter, Frank McKenna, and AJ Patel

Jim Baranski, Executive Director 

Show Notes | Transcription

Guys DO want and need to share their feelings about the challenges of living with lung cancer. Listen to these poignant stories of James Hiter, Frank McKenna, and AJ Patel. These guys, living with lung cancer, are first and foremost, husbands and fathers. They talk about the strength they draw from the most fundamental relationships in their lives. They talked about sharing their lung cancer diagnosis with their kids—and how those relationships helped change their perception of being diagnosed with lung cancer.

AJ Patel talks about how communicating honestly about these issues with his kids helps them work through their own feelings about his diagnosis.

A lung cancer diagnosis is a stressful experience in a person's life. The support of family and friends is incredibly helpful and appreciated by these men, even if they were reluctant at first.

Frank shares how the actions of his sons were just so inspiring to him.  “To know that I had that effect on them, that they wanted to give back to me and, and, you know, make their dreams and wishes come true with the little time that we had.” 

Since AJ’s diagnosis, he is now more open to family members and others talking to them and sharing his emotions and feelings. This openness was something new - he was reserved and never really talked about his health because he thought he was supposed to be the head of the household. “What am I going to do? Being vulnerable? But now I realize that vulnerability leads to discussions and dialogues, and it's not necessarily always an outcome that we're, well, now we feel better.”

AJ has stepped up to connect as a “buddy” to other men facing a lung cancer diagnosis. 

“I would just encourage if anybody's listening to this and you've been recently diagnosed, you know, somebody has been recently diagnosed, set aside, whatever preconceived ideas you have about talking to people that you don't know about this, and just know it can be really beneficial just to have a second set of ears.”

Another thing that all three men have in common is the knowledge that the latest lung cancer research has been vital to their survival of this disease. Knowing that there is much more work to be done, they have chosen different ways to advocate for lung cancer research. Besides being part of the LCFA’s Speakers Bureau, each of them found a way to give back even while managing their own cancer journey.

“And it's, it's so important for guys to know that there were other guys in here, you know, like the three of us who work with the speaker's bureau in order to get that word out there. And do the events that we do - appear on some of the podcasts and on the websites, and some of the things we do to let people know that there were other guys out here that are willing to help, they're willing to, you know, either lead by example or give advice, or, you know, just kind of say, it's okay to talk to someone who knows what you're going through or has been through it.” - Frank McKenna

James also shares an important message:

“My hope is that you will be inspired to spread the word. It’s time for this disease to be funded and treated like all other types of cancer. It's time for the world to know that if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer- smoker, non-smoker or never-smoker.”