Understand Lung Cancer
- George Dudnik, a 36-year-old yoga instructor, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer after his first symptom, a swollen face, was dismissed as the mumps, a viral infection. After experiencing pain in his calf which spread elsewhere, coughing up blood, and having difficulty breathing, Dudnik got additional medical advice, leading to his diagnosis. Now he hopes to combat the disease with optimism, his tradition course of treatment, alternative therapies, and good nutrition.
- Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer. Stage IV lung cancer has spread outside of the lung and is known as metastatic cancer.
- Although it’s unclear what led to Dudnik’s cancer diagnosis, it’s important to understand that smoking is, of course, the primary cause of lung cancer, making up roughly 70 percent of cases However, nonsmokers can, and do, develop this disease.
- According to the American Cancer Society, around 20 percent of people who die from lung cancer in the U.S. “have never smoked or used any other form of tobacco.”
- Whether you are currently battling cancer or worried that you might have it — or something equally as serious — it’s always important to advocate for your health. Cancer is an incredibly serious disease, and you have every right to insist that your doctors investigate any possible signs of it.
“Because of my lifestyle, doctors couldn’t believe I had cancer. For six months, I was told I was too young and too healthy to have anything serious. But in reality, I was battling something much bigger than anyone expected,” Dudnik explained in a GoFundMe he created to help him financially as he embarks on his “healing journey.”
Read MoreHe explains on GoFundMe, “It all started with what seemed like a minor issue, pain in my right calf muscle. Doctors thought it was muscle or nerve-related, so for two months, I managed the pain with ice, paracetamol, and ibuprofen. The pain spread to my foot, making it difficult to walk, but still, no one suspected anything serious.
“Then, one morning, I woke up with a fever, coughing up blood, and struggling to breathe. I called an ambulance and was rushed to [the hospital], where a scan revealed multiple blood clots in my legs, lungs, and arms. What started as a simple muscle pain turned out to be something far more serious.”
He continued, “After further tests and hospital stays, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 ROS1-positive lung cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
“Doctors told me my cancer is incurable, but I refuse to accept that as my fate.”
Dudnik received his diagnosis in November 2024, after undergoing surgery. And although he was set to begin chemotherapy On December 19, the ROSI gene mutation determined that chemo wouldn’t work due to the aggressiveness of the disease.
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The American Lung Association describes ROS1-positive cancer as, “Errors in the ROS-1 gene are one type of lung cancer biomarker. When the ROS1 gene fuses together with part of another gene and causes lung cancer, a patient is said to be ROS1-positive.
“This gene change is called a ROS1 fusion, or ROS1 rearrangement, because it changes the ROS1 gene in a way that causes uncontrolled cell growth and cancer. The ROS1 gene can fuse with many different partners. The most common fusion in lung cancer is the CD74 gene.”
Additionally, “The ROS1 gene is altered in about 1-2% of patients with lung cancer and generally appears in adenocarcinoma non-small cell lung cancer. Patients who are ROS1-positive tend to be younger than the average patient with lung cancer and have little to no smoking history.”
Dudnik, whose GoFundMe has raised more than $14,000, is determined to power through adversity and do whatever it takes to live his best life and fight lung cancer.
His treatment consists of him taking targeted therapy drug Entrectinib (Rozlytrek), in addition to blood thinners every day to prevent additional blood clots.
“According to my doctors, I will need these medications for the rest of my life or until cancer takes me. But I believe differently,” he explained. “While I follow my prescribed treatment, I am also actively taking control of my healing by investing in alternative therapies that support my body and mind.
“I truly believe in self-healing, energy work, and the power of the human spirit. I am committed to fighting this disease for as long as it takes,” Dudnik said.
Remember, experts warn that women should absolutely, under no circumstance, ever substitute approved treatments backed by data and, or FDA registered clinical trials, for alternative, unproven treatments, and that doing so is extremely dangerous.
Expert Resources On Lung Cancer
- New Study Suggests Nitrate in U.S. Drinking Water May Cause Thousands of Cancer Cases Per Year
- Take it From a Guy Who Looks at Diseased Lungs Every Day — Stop Smoking
- 7 Lung Cancer Symptoms to Know; This Disease Can Be Tricky to Catch Early & Doesn’t Just Affect Smokers
- Lung Cancer in Smokers vs. Non-Smokers
- 87% of Eligible People Skipped Lung Cancer Screening, Analysis Finds; Knowing the Importance of Lung Cancer Screenings
- A New Development in the Fight Against Lung Cancer: Explaining the Liquid Biopsy
- For Early Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Immunotherapy Keytruda Before and After Surgery May Significantly Reduce Risk of Disease Progression, Promising Study Shows
Thankfully, on February 28 of this year, Dudnik was informed that his cancer decreased in size and he credits this due to a combination of targeted therapy, alternative medicine, and better nutrition, he told Bristol Live in a recent interview.
“I want people to see that it’s ok to have cancer. It’s not a shameful thing. It’s not an automatic death sentence. It’s not a countdown timer,” he told the news outlet.
Understanding Lung Cancer
Lung cancer forms when cancer cells develop in the tissues of the lung. It is the second most common form of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the U.S., SurvivorNet experts say. It’s “completely asymptomatic,” thoracic surgeon-in-chief at Temple University Health System Dr. Joseph Friedberg, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
“It causes no issues until it has spread somewhere. So, if it spreads to the bones, it may cause pain. If it spreads to the brain, it may cause something not subtle, like a seizure,” Dr. Friedberg adds.
WATCH: Detecting lung cancer in the absence of symptoms.
Scans such as X-rays can help doctors determine if a shadow appears, which can prompt further testing for lung cancer.
Lung cancer often doesn’t cause symptoms until it has already spread outside the lungs, according to SurvivorNet’s experts.
There are two main types of lung cancer, which doctors group together based on how they act and how they’re treated:
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type and makes up about 85% of cases.
- Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is less common, but it tends to grow faster than NSCLC and is treated very differently.
Metastatic cancer means that the disease has spread to distant parts of the body. We understand this diagnosis can be really intimidating, but treatment options are ever-evolving.
Expert Resources On Lung Cancer
- New Study Suggests Nitrate in U.S. Drinking Water May Cause Thousands of Cancer Cases Per Year
- Take it From a Guy Who Looks at Diseased Lungs Every Day — Stop Smoking
- 7 Lung Cancer Symptoms to Know; This Disease Can Be Tricky to Catch Early & Doesn’t Just Affect Smokers
- Lung Cancer in Smokers vs. Non-Smokers
- 87% of Eligible People Skipped Lung Cancer Screening, Analysis Finds; Knowing the Importance of Lung Cancer Screenings
- A New Development in the Fight Against Lung Cancer: Explaining the Liquid Biopsy
- For Early Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Immunotherapy Keytruda Before and After Surgery May Significantly Reduce Risk of Disease Progression, Promising Study Shows
Some people with lung cancer may experience symptoms such as:
- A cough that doesn’t go away, that gets worse, or that brings up bloody phlegm
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Chest pain
- Hoarse voice
- Appetite loss
- Weight loss
If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms consistently, contact your doctor for further tests.
Understanding DNA mutations: What does ROS1 mean?
DNA is the genetic code of your cell, or the blueprint. Everything your cells make to keep them alive and functioning is all stored in the DNA. Normally, there are checkpoints and safeguards in your cells that identify changes in the DNA in order to correct them. This can be through either fixing the DNA change or mutation itself, or killing the cell if the DNA change or damage is too difficult to fix.
When enough of certain parts of the DNA are mutated and not fixed by your cells’ protective mechanisms, this can result in unregulated growth and division of the cells which can result in cancer.
There are some drugs available that can target these specific DNA mutations — or medications that doctors know are very effective against these changes. Just as cancers that arise in various parts of the body are different, common DNA mutations that cause these cancers can also be different, resulting in different medications to target these DNA mutations.
The following are the most common mutations that have FDA-approved targeted treatment options already:
- EGFR
- ALK
- ROS1
- BRAF
- KRAS
- MET
- HER2
- RET
- NTRK
What is Molecular Testing and Next-Generation Sequencing?
Smoking and Lung Cancer Risk
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Nonsmokers still get lung cancer, but cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for the disease. Tobacco smoke contains a mixture of more than 7,000 different chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.
The CDC says cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don’t smoke. Additionally, second-hand smoke can cause lung cancer.
Former & Current Heavy Smokers Should Get Lung Cancer Screenings Using CT Scan, Says Leading Expert
Smoking is, of course, the primary cause of lung cancer, but nonsmokers, like That McLaurin, can and do develop this disease.
Researchers have made progress in understanding the differences between lung cancer in smokers versus nonsmokers, says Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and they’re developing targeted treatments that will be able to address the genetic drivers of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
“Among patients who are nonsmokers, or former very light smokers, we identify a mutation that we can target with pills in about 60% to 70% of them. That leaves 30% or so, 40%, in whom we either have a target for which we do not have successful treatment,” Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet.
“Among patients who are smokers, who have more complex cancers that have hundreds, sometimes thousands of mutations, don’t have a driver mutation that we can give a pill for, which is only a tiny percentage of lifelong smokers. Chemotherapy is the primary treatment in most patients,” Dr. Natale explains further.
Understanding the treatment options for lung cancer
Navigating Clinical Trials
Clinical trials can be an option for people with cancer at many points during the treatment process. Your doctor may have spoken with you about possibly enrolling in a trial if you have advanced disease or if there’s a drug that’s currently considered investigational that may work better than the standard for you.
A lot of patients may feel uncomfortable about the thought of participating in a trial, but the trials can provide amazing opportunities for patients. For one thing, they give patients access to a bevy of new drugs that are currently being developed by pharmaceutical companies.
Things to Consider
In the U.S., all new drugs have to go through clinical trials before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will approve them. In addition to being potentially live-saving for patients, these trials are also necessary to advance science and cancer treatments.
However, participating in a trial comes with risks as well, and it’s important to talk to your doctor about this before getting involved in one. Some risks to consider are:
- The risk of harm and/or side effects due to experimental treatments
- Researchers may be unaware of some potential side effects for experimental treatments
- The treatment may not work for you, even if it has worked for others
Still, joining a clinical trial comes with benefits as well. You will be given access to treatments that could be life-saving, but simply haven’t made it through the approval process yet.
If you’re looking for a clinical trial, SurvivorNet can help. Check out SurvivorNet’s Clinical Trial Finder.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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