Cancer Matters

Perspectives from those who live it every day.

Benjamin Levy, M.D.

Lung cancer immunotherapy options expand

May 12, 2017

Patients and doctors received news this week of the FDA’s approval of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab in combination with platinum doublet chemotherapy as first-line therapy for all patients with non-small cell lung cancer, irrespective of patients’ tumor PD-L1 status. The new approval follows the FDA’s decision last November to approve pembrolizumab as a first-line therapy for some […]

admin ⋅ Issues & Perspectives lung cancer, vw ⋅

Do you have endocrinologists on the lung cancer team?

October 17, 2016

Endocrinologists, 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 […]

admin ⋅ lung cancer, treatment, vw ⋅

What side effects can lung cancer radiation cause?

October 3, 2016

Many 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,” […]

admin ⋅ lung cancer, treatment, vw ⋅

How does diet affect lung cancer risk or treatment? Do you have a nutritionist on my care team?

September 19, 2016

“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 […]

admin ⋅ Prevention/Screening lung cancer, treatment, vw ⋅

How long does it take to test and see test results about lung cancer mutations?

September 12, 2016

“Molecular profiling of a tumor has really taken off over the last few years, and a few years ago, it could take several weeks for these results to come back. We can now test for the changes we can target in a lung tumor within four to five days here at Hopkins,” says Russell K. […]

admin ⋅ Prevention/Screening lung cancer, vw ⋅

It seems that more young people in their 30s and 40s are being diagnosed. Are any studies looking at this and can they help younger patients?

September 5, 2016

“I'm not aware of data to show that more young people are being diagnosed with lung cancer,”  says Russell K. Hales, M.D., a radiation oncologist, at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “But anecdotally, it is what I seem to be seeing as well.  What we tend to see […]

admin ⋅ lung cancer, Research, vw ⋅

How do you determine what stage of cancer I have?

August 29, 2016

“Staging is a critical part of therapy,” says radiation oncologist Russell K. Hales, M.D. of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. “We don’t want to focus only on a tumor in the chest, for example, if there’s something growing in another area of the body. That’s why we fully […]

admin ⋅ Prevention/Screening lung cancer, vw ⋅

Are there any long term effects or dangers from radiation for lung cancer?

August 22, 2016

“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 […]

admin ⋅ lung cancer, Survivorship, treatment, vw ⋅

Is it important to watch your vitamin levels during cancer treatment?

August 15, 2016

“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 […]

admin ⋅ lung cancer, treatment, vw ⋅

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?

August 2, 2016

Radiation 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,” […]

admin ⋅ clinical trials, lung cancer, treatment, vw ⋅

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