Preview of the Lung Cancer Podcast

[00:00:00] There's a lot of hope. We have new treatments that are changing people's lives. They're extending

[00:00:07] the lives of lung cancer patients much beyond what we've seen in the past.

[00:00:13] Thanks for listening to this preview of the Lung Cancer podcast, part of the Health Unmuted

[00:00:17] Audio Library by Mission-Based Media. While treatments have come a long way in recent

[00:00:22] years, lung cancer remains one of the most common and serious types of cancer.

[00:00:27] In each episode of this mini-series, we hear from medical experts and people with lived experience

[00:00:32] to engage, educate, and empower listeners. To learn more about how you can be involved,

[00:00:38] visit HealthUnmuted.com or drop us a line at info at HealthUnmuted.com. Enjoy the preview!

[00:00:47] In the first episode of the series, we ask, what is cancer?

[00:00:51] Cancer is when there is a group of abnormally functioning cells in the body that ultimately

[00:01:00] start to multiply and outgrow the good cells in the body. Cancer can occur almost anywhere in a

[00:01:08] person's body. Lung cancer begins in the lungs, but other cancers can start elsewhere and spread

[00:01:15] to the lungs. When that happens, it's called metastatic or secondary lung cancer.

[00:01:21] If it goes untreated, it will continue to multiply, continue to grow, and eventually start to

[00:01:27] affect and spread to other organs in the body outside of where it may have originated.

[00:01:33] We also look at what causes lung cancer. The majority of lung cancers are due to

[00:01:39] cigarette smoking and it is an inhalation of these toxic particles that then causes

[00:01:46] damage to the cells that are inside the lung. But you don't have to be a smoker to get lung cancer.

[00:01:53] I was like, I didn't smoke! Why do I have lung cancer? Because at a young age, we are always

[00:01:58] taught, don't smoke, you don't get lung cancer. There certainly is cancer in non-smokers. It's

[00:02:05] a smaller fraction, but it definitely exists, particularly in women.

[00:02:10] In episode two, we explore the process of getting diagnosed with lung cancer and the

[00:02:14] importance of early detection. You always want to do one procedure that's going to give you both

[00:02:20] the diagnosis and the stage of the disease. I went in and I got CT scan and that actually

[00:02:26] saved my life and got me the diagnosis. Symptoms vary by person as well as other factors such

[00:02:33] as where the cancer is located and how soon it's detected. I was at work one day and I was walking

[00:02:39] around and I noticed that my foot and my ankle started to really swell and then I started to get

[00:02:45] bone pain. I began to get a really naggy cough, then I started to develop shortness of breath

[00:02:52] when I was talking or walking. It took about six months for me to get my lung cancer diagnosis.

[00:03:00] And often symptoms don't appear until after the cancer has spread.

[00:03:04] So that's a big problem. There has been a huge push and a lot of research going into

[00:03:10] lung cancer screening, which is trying to detect lung cancer before people have symptoms

[00:03:17] by picking out the people who are at highest risk.

[00:03:21] In later episodes, we explore the different treatment options.

[00:03:24] Depending on how big the initial cancer is and where it has spread, the options generally are

[00:03:32] either surgery. I did have a lung lumbeck to me. They did remove the lower half of my right lobe.

[00:03:39] Or a combination of surgery plus chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

[00:03:44] I've had progression in my journey so I've actually changed treatments

[00:03:48] a couple times. I've had radiation because of my mutation. I qualified for a targeted drug.

[00:03:54] There's also a lot of immune therapies that are now been developed which are much better tolerated.

[00:03:59] We also talked to those with firsthand experience about how to look after your health after a diagnosis.

[00:04:06] It's okay to be sad. It's okay to be upset. It's okay to be hurt.

[00:04:11] You don't have to be happy. Your cancer is not a second lease on life.

[00:04:16] Be real, be authentically yourself and just be kind to yourself.

[00:04:20] I view life totally differently than I did before. Instead of looking at things as like,

[00:04:26] oh you got to take the dogs for the walk, I say I get to take the dogs for the walk.

[00:04:30] It's opened my eyes up to the importance of appreciation and gratitude. That's how I want to

[00:04:38] live my life.