Fighting Advanced Lung Cancer
- Radio host Rush Limbaugh, 70, is still supported on Twitter from fan accounts after deactivating his own account amid a late stage lung cancer battle.
- It is important to know that late stage lung cancer can be managed. The treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, as well as the newer targeted drugs and immunotherapy agents.
- Lung cancer specialists say it is crucial that lung cancer patients ask for testing to examine the genetic and molecular makeup of their tumors in order to understand if targeted therapies, or immunotherapy, may be an option.
Related: Rush Limbaugh Still Hosting Show, One Year After Stage 4 Lung Cancer Diagnosis
Read MoreEvery day I thank God, I wake up — and I’m not joking on this, folks. I know it’s clever sounding and it may be even a little humorous. When I wake up every day, the first thing I do is thank God that that happened. And then I sincerely thank you all for the notes and prayers.
Rush Limbaugh Quotes (@DailyLimbaugh) February 8, 2021
One fan responds, “Yep. 100%,” and another says, “We’re praying for your healing.” Limbaugh, who is married to Kathryn Adams, 44, has been emotional a few times while talking about his fans on the air, and has reportedly said that “knowing his fans are out there praying and everything else you’re doing is a blessing. It’s just a series of blessings.” A woman who lost her husband to cancer replies, “Not myself, but watched my 39-year-old husband through his battle. He always wanted just one more day with our very young children. My prayers are with you and your loved ones, sir.” Talking about cancer and sharing these emotions not only help the person going through it, but it helps many others who are fighting cancer, bringing more awareness to this disease so that more lives can potentially be spared from having to go through it.
… Hearing from you, knowing that you’re out there praying and everything else you’re doing is a blessing. It’s just a series of blessings. – @RealRLimbaugh #rushisright
Rush Limbaugh Quotes (@DailyLimbaugh) January 4, 2021
The conservative host had told fans late last year that he doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to do the show, but has still been doing a handful of shows since the start of this year when he’s feeling well enough. Motivational speaker Ken Matthews has been filling in for Rush as guest host, along with start-up CEO Todd Herman.
My pleasure to Guest Host Open Line Friday Tomorrow on The Rush Limbaugh Show. 12-3p ET. See ya on the Radio. pic.twitter.com/qjeFEfyPQx
KenMatthews (@KenMatthews) February 5, 2021
Learning About Late Stage Lung Cancer
Stage four, or late-stage lung cancer, means that the cancer has spread to other organs outside of the lungs. Dr. Raja Flores from Mount Sinai Health System explained the misconceptions with stage four lung cancer to SurvivorNet in a previous interview “Now, you have to realize stage four, again, does not mean death,” he said. “You can have stage fours who are alive eight, nine, ten years later.” It’s very important to take things step-by-step. So usually, with stage four, it’s chemotherapy,” he said. “And I never take surgery off the table, because down the line, after four or five years, someone may have had chemotherapy, which got rid of some bone disease, radiation that got rid of brain disease, and they may have one spot in their lung, and that’s the only thing that’s active right now.”
Dr. Flores explained that even in a stage four patient, surgery may be a treatment possibility, but “most of the time,” it’s not. However, there are more types of treatment available for stage four lung cancer today than ever before. These include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation as well as the newer targeted drugs and immunotherapy agents. Immunotherapy is a newer cancer treatment that retrains your immune system to attack invaders like cancer cells. We want you to be aware of the different options that may be available for you, but it’s best to go through options with your own personal doctor and come up with a plan together.
Treatment for Stage Four Lung Cancer
Genetics and Late Stage Lung Cancer
It’s important to know more about what genetics can do for advanced stage lung cancer patients these days. In a previous interview, Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute told SurvivorNet that “the way to find the best treatment for you when you’re diagnosed with Stage four lung cancer is get your tumor characterized,” which is looking for the genetic changes within it. ” The genetic changes they look for for most lung cancers “is a genetic testing panel of hundreds of genes looking for changes that we can target with a pill therapy.” Some of Dr. Oxnard’s patients have taken a pill every day and “their cancers melted away,” he said, adding, “They’re living fully.” Testing will give you new treatment options and new pill therapy options.
The Importance of Genetics in Late Stage Lung Cancers
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