Working With Cancer
- Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, 70, had warned his fan base that he was going to be taking time off of The Rush Limbaugh Show, but has still been pushing forward despite his “terminal” lung cancer that he announced exactly one year ago.
- Limbaugh listener and prostate survivor Jim Judd tells SurvivorNet, “When he gets his treatments, he feels pretty bad for a few days. But he’s still doing the shows. Some of the reason why he takes the days off is he doesn’t want to do the show unless he can do them how he’s always done the show.”
- Getting screened early for lung cancer if you’re a past or present smoker, and the misconceptions with the term “Palliative Care.”
Related: Rush Limbaugh's Surprise Advanced Lung Cancer Diagnosis If You Smoke, Get Screened
Read MoreLetting Down His Guard
It’s common to reflect inward when you are battling a terminal illness. Since his diagnosis, the host has been getting more frank about his feelings every so often while on the air. During Limbaugh’s last show of the year in December, he turned emotional. “You have no idea what you all have meant to me and my family,” and then stated something that’s hard for anyone with a cancer diagnosis to come out and say. “The day is going to come folks where I’m not going to be able to do this,” and added. “I wasn’t expected to be alive today.” Related: Alex Trebek, Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer Survivor, Announces Forthcoming Memoir: "The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life"Still Hanging On
Despite fearing that he won’t be able to do his radio show for much longer (he stated last year that the cancer treatment was kicking his ass physically and mentally), The Rush Limbaugh Show must go on. He’s already completed multiple shows this year (many more than expected) and it’s only the beginning of February (guest host Todd Herman has taken over for him on down days). Some cancer patients credit their work and passion to keeping them thriving.
Limbaugh listener and prostate cancer survivor Jim Judd (who does not personally know Limbaugh) tells SurivorNet how the shows have been going so far this year “He’s doing them when he can. When he feels good,” Judd says. “When he gets his treatments, he feels pretty bad for a few days. But he’s still doing the shows. Some of the reason why he takes the days off is he doesn’t want to do the show unless he can do them how he’s always done the show.”
Judd also notes that Limbaugh’s voice has been sounding a little raspier lately. “He used to smoke cigars while on the radio, and it looked like he inhaled.” As far as toning down his show or his politics, Judd says for the most part, he does it like he always did. “That’s a big thing for him, producing the same quality show or else he’s not going to do it. The fact that he’s dying has not affected him at all aside from the few times he’s gotten serious.”
Getting Screened Early for Lung Cancer
If you’ve been a past or present smoker, you should consider getting screened. Leading expert, Dr. Patrick Forde, Director of Thoracic Oncology Research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore told SurvivorNet in a previous interview that there have been a number of studies looking at using low-dose CT scans to try to pick up cancer at an earlier stage in people who have a history of smoking.
“About 70% to 80% of patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer, unfortunately, the cancer has spread outside of the lung and is not suitable for surgery,” he explained. “And they were able to show a reduction in the numbers of lung cancers which had spread outside of the chest. They were able to pick them up in earlier stage and potentially cure them at a higher rate than not doing screening.”
Former & Current Heavy Smokers Should Get Lung Cancer Screenings Using CT Scan, Says Leading Expert
Comfort While Battling Terminal Cancer
When using the term palliative care, hospice often comes to mind. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Lisa Diver from Stanford University explained that it’s not the same thing as hospice. “Palliative care means the care or support of symptoms in patients with terminal diagnoses, like cancer. It doesn’t mean that your doctor is going to stop treatment or even wants to talk about that, but simply that he or she thinks it’s important that we help support all of the aspects of your health.”
Dr. Diver continued. “Palliative care means that we’re going to provide excellent supportive care, including things like pain control, nausea, constipation, mental health care, and all of these other symptoms that arise very commonly and are intertwined inextricably with your cancer care.”
Clearing Up Misconceptions About Palliative Care
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