Updated March 15th, 2022

Rush Limbaugh, Battling Advanced Lung Cancer, Says Undergoing Targeted Therapies “Nearly Killed Him”

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“I am doing better at this stage than I thought I was gonna be doing,” says conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who opened up about his experience battling advanced lung cancer and the progress he’s made since starting his third wave of treatment.

During a segment on his radio program, "The Rush Limbaugh Show,” Limbaugh, 69, told listeners that his health is in good shape despite challenges he’s faced during his third wave of treatment. Even though Limbaugh has been relatively quiet about his battle with lung cancer in the past, he told fans that he would be more open, and he’s holding to that promise. He revealed that the experience of going through targeted therapies “nearly killed him,” and he needed to stop that wave of treatment for his health.

“My first two at-bats were horrible,” says Limbaugh. “One was a targeted therapy of clinical trial drugs, which worked but nearly killed me in the process, and so we had to get off of those. But on my third at-bat, the third attempt, I managed to get on base. I hit a solid single and then stole second. I am currently on second base hoping to slide into third and eventually make it all the way home. We’re in the bottom of the ninth. If I get all the way home we get extra innings. And that’s what we’re shooting for here.”

Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard explains the lung cancer staging process

Targeted Therapies For Lung Cancer

Limbaugh didn’t disclose which specific drugs he took, but when diagnosed with lung cancer, some patients may contain a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) â which, when overreactive, makes cancer cells grow and divide. For patients with EGFR, targeted therapies are often given as a way to slow down these cancer cells from growing. These therapies are drugs given as pills either by themselves or alongside chemotherapy, and if successful, it’ll take longer for the cancer to worsen.

Erlotinib (Tarceva), Gefitinib (Iressa), and Osimertinib (Tagrisso) are among three targeted therapies, also known as EGFR Inhibitors, which have shown immense promise for lung cancer patients with the protein mutation.

“So the EGFR mutation occurs in the cancers of 40% to 50% of patients who have never smoked,” says Dr. Ronald Natale, the Director of the Lung Cancer Clinical Research Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “We found that if a patient has EGFR mutated lung cancer, these medicines have a 60% to 70% chance of producing rapid cancer regression with an improvement in symptoms that last an average of about a year, sometimes longer and sometimes very long.”

Dr. Ronald Natale explains how targeted therapies can benefit certain lung cancer patients

Clinical Trials For Advanced Lung Cancer

Clinical trials help researchers develop new treatment options for advanced lung cancer patients who have not responded successfully to prior therapies. In clinical trials, researchers often test new drugs to measure how well participants respond, which not only helps research, but may be extremely beneficial to patients.

The earlier patients receive targeted therapies, the better the results are likely to be. Dr. Leena Gandhi, who most recently served as Director of Thoracic Medical Oncology at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, says targeted therapies as first choice treatment, rather than second or third, may improve overall survival rate and allow people to live longer and better lives.

Dr. Gandhi points out that clinical trials do come with their own set of requirements. By enrolling in a clinical trial, participants may go through more hospital visits, more assessments, and extra blood tests as well as biopsies.

Dr. Leena Gandhi explains why clinical trials may help advanced lung cancer patients

The Revolution Of Precision Medicine In Lung Cancer Treatment

For lung cancer patients with specific gene mutations, precision medicine is an effective way oncologists can determine best treatment options based on genetic mutations you might have. Through precision medicine, your doctor will get to know the exact type of cancer you have by testing tumors and determine the specific mutation present.

“I tell [patients] the percent chance that their tumor has an EGFR or an ALK or a Ross-1 or a BRAF mutation,” Dr. Natale says in a separate interview. “If it has one of those mutations, here’s the treatment we’re going to give you, these pills…the treatment has a 70%, 80% chance of producing rapid tumor regression for a year or more on average.”

Dr. Natale points out that sometimes cancer can become resistant to certain drugs, and if that’s the case, oncologists will figure out why the disease became resistant to the treatment. Once that’s determined, your doctor will select a new treatment option.

Dr. Ronald Natale explains how precision medicine works in lung cancer treatment

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