In a head-to-head comparison between the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab and standard chemotherapy as a first-line therapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer, patients taking pembrolizumab had a 50 percent greater drop in the risk of death or disease progression and a four-month greater increase in progression-free survival compared with those who took chemotherapy. A report on(...)
treatment
Do you have endocrinologists on the lung cancer team?
Posted by | treatmentEndocrinologists, or hormone doctors, are on your lung cancer treatment team “if it's clinically appropriate for them to be a part of it,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. Hales notes that “Endocrinologists often look at hormone levels, and we use(...)
What side effects can lung cancer radiation cause?
Posted by | treatmentMany lung cancer patients are concerned about the side effects lung cancer radiation can cause, such as heart or kidney damage, or fertility problems, says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “Any therapy can cause short-term or long-term problems, and side effects,”(...)
How does diet affect lung cancer risk or treatment? Do you have a nutritionist on my care team?
Posted by | Prevention/Screening, treatment“When I meet with patients, I tell them that there are three critical parts to their therapy. The first is local therapy, such as surgery or radiation. The second is chemotherapy, or systemic therapy. And the third is their overall well-being, such as nutrition,” says Russell K. Hales, M.D. Hales, a radiation oncologist at the(...)
Are there any long term effects or dangers from radiation for lung cancer?
Posted by | Survivorship, treatment“Absolutely, yes. All of our therapies, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy for lung cancer come with risks and benefits,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “We use those therapies only after careful evaluation of the risks of the therapy, versus(...)
Is it important to watch your vitamin levels during cancer treatment?
Posted by | treatment“Certainly, it’s never optimal to have deficiencies in vitamin levels,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “We try to make sure that our patients are healthy, and taking a multivitamin every day.” However, Hales warns against lung cancer patients taking high(...)
My mother has recently had a lobectomy. She’s faced with the choice of standard care or a clinical trial. What should she consider before making her choice?
Posted by | treatmentRadiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus notes that clinical trials are treatments that are usually done at cancer centers with researchers, like Hopkins. “Clinical trials take an existing therapy, and add to it an investigational therapy, or give an investigational therapy altogether,”(...)
After surgery for lung cancer, how long will it be before I can safely receive other treatments like chemo and radiation? Will my cancer grow back during this time?
Posted by | treatment“Many lung cancers are not treated with one therapy alone,” says Russell K. Hales, M.D. “Sometimes it takes all three treatments—surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy-- to fully treat the lung cancer. And patients may be anxious after a surgery, about waiting in recovery for other treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.” Hales, who is a radiation oncologist(...)
Side effects of immunotherapy: what to look for and when?
Posted by | treatmentJulie Brahmer, M.D., director of the Thoracic Oncology Program, began treating patients with immunotherapy drugs nearly a decade ago. She led one of the first large studies of the popular drugs, which was reported in 2012. Since then, Brahmer, a program leader in the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, has become an expert in identifying(...)
Palliative medicine focus at #ASCO16 meeting
Posted by | treatment, UncategorizedTom Smith, M.D., wants cancer patients to live well. Fewer side effects, better quality of life, more joyful time with family…these are among the primary goals, he says, of palliative medicine. Researchers have studied the impact of palliative medicine programs on patients’ outcomes, and results show that patients benefit, says Smith. “A lot of aggressive(...)