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Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers. It does not only apply to active smokers. What to do if the diagnosis is lung cancer? What are the treatment options?
- If it is diagnosed at an early stage, lung cancer has the best chances of recovery
- It is then usually recommended to remove the tumor and administer chemotherapy
- Not all available lung cancer treatment methods are also used in Poland
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Diagnosis: lung cancer. What to do?
A person faced with an oncological diagnosis is completely lost, which is why the doctor’s approach to the patient is extremely important: his openness, kindness, creating circumstances that at such a difficult time will allow us to establish a thread of understanding in order to make important decisions together. The final decision on treatment is always made by the patient, and the doctor is obliged to provide him with information that will allow him to choose the most advantageous options.
– A doctor is usually the first source of information for a patient and he is the first to give him a helping hand. It is worth providing his patient with information about the support groups he knows about people who have gone through the same thing and know more about living with this disease than anyone else – says Ewelina Szmytke, a volunteer in the field of lung cancer in Poland.
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After the first shock, it’s time to ask questions and look for answers. Often, however, the patient is confused in his head, it is difficult for him to collect his thoughts, he wonders what he should ask about. Let’s sort out this chaos. It is worth writing your questions on a piece of paper.
How is lung cancer treated?
First, it is important to determine what stage the disease is at. The degree of advancement determines the decisions on further proceedings.
– The most effective treatments for lung cancer are those involving the complete removal of the tumor or its destruction and the preventive administration of chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream. However, this type of treatment is possible only in the early stages of the disease, which is why quick diagnosis is particularly important in lung cancer – noted the volunteer.
Another element that determines the type of therapy is the type of cancer – whether it is small cell or non-small cell lung cancer.
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Small cell lung cancer is less common, in about 20% of cases. With this indication, most treatment methods only include traditional methods. If we are dealing with a much more common non-small cell lung cancer, it is worth doing molecular tests.
It is thanks to them that it is possible to determine if there are specific mutations, so that therapy can be personalized. Immunotherapy is adjusted individually for a given patient.
Innovative treatment of lung cancer
This is how we come to the possibility of reimbursed treatment in Poland.
– If among the reimbursed methods there is no one that would be the most effective for a given patient, it is worth finding out if there are clinical trials for cancer diagnosed in this patient. Sometimes innovative treatment methods are also available in many places in our country – advises the volunteer.
Each of the tests is carried out on a group of patients with a specific health condition. To take part in such a study, certain conditions must be met.
– The description of each clinical trial includes the exclusion and entry criteria on the basis of which individuals are eligible to participate in the trial. If a patient enters the study, he or she is placed in one of the groups – one of them uses the new method of treatment, and the other – the best available treatment method in a given indication. Then the results of these two groups are compared and on this basis it is checked whether the new method of treatment is better than the one most often used in a given indication – explains Ewelina Szmytke.
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Some of the therapies not used in Poland may be available in other countries. It happens, however, that they do not have a marketing authorization yet and are not reimbursed in Poland. But there are ways to access such methods.
– This can be done, for example, through a clinical trial, as we have already talked about, or through emergency access to drug technologies. It is about funding drugs needed to save a person’s life. The hospital may ask the Minister of Health to cover the costs of such therapy. The drug must be registered, but not reimbursed. In such a case, the decision is granted for three months, and the continuation is possible, but only on the basis of confirmation of the effectiveness of the treatment by a specialist doctor and by submitting a new application to the Minister of Health. Unfortunately, such a procedure causes many difficulties – explains the volunteer.
There are also other methods of seeking access to innovative treatments. You can try to get to them through international projects that help patients follow the right path to perform molecular tests and, if mutations are detected, implement personalized treatment in the right hospital.
– Access to treatment is not limited to treatment reimbursed under drug programs. There are also other ways that you can try to use, but the condition to do so is access to information about them – emphasizes Ewelina Szmytke.
Before deciding on a particular therapy, patients can ask their doctor about the potential benefits and risks of the proposed treatment regimen. For a patient, various elements of therapy may be important, for example, whether drugs are administered in a hospital, which is associated with a stay of several hours in the facility, or are available in the form of tablets that can be taken at home.
Lung cancer treatment side effects
The side effects of treatment and the possibility of their effective alleviation are also very important. It is worth remembering that pain management is an integral part of the therapy.
– For many patients, the quality of life is much more valuable than the length of life in poor condition. The decision on the type of treatment should be made not only taking into account the patient’s condition, but also his needs and life priorities – emphasizes the volunteer.
If the doctor himself does not take up this thread, you can ask him where else you can look for support. There are many patient organizations, support groups, various informal patient groups are formed, and doctors often know about them.
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In Poland, patients with lung cancer can be referred, for example, to the Lung Cancer Association in Szczecin and Gdańsk or to a closed Facebook group “Lung Cancer” and to the Facebook page “Lung cancer – knowledge and support”.
– Many times, apart from information about the disease and ways of coping with it in everyday life, patients can also obtain emotional support and understanding there, find ways to open up in such a difficult situation to others. These people know very well what the patient goes through when hearing such a diagnosis, those who have gone through it simply understand each other better – says Ewelina Szmytke.
Patient needs change
Patients’ needs often change in the later stages of treatment. According to the Life Cancer Europe report from 2020, which was based on surveys conducted, among others among European lung cancer patients and their caregivers, symptom control has the greatest need.
Almost 40 percent of the respondents declared that they often do not know how to deal with the side effects of treatment and that they need the doctor’s support in this regard. Another big need (declared by 37% of respondents) is the provision of psychological care.
– The patient’s attitude towards the disease is extremely important in the treatment process and has an impact on the effectiveness of the therapy. It happens that patients after surgery or radiotherapy applied in the early stages of treatment do not receive psychological help, although they need it – quotes data from the report by Ewelina Szmytke.
Almost 33 percent of the respondents also indicated the need for rehabilitation. After difficult procedures, it is often necessary to maintain the patient’s good physical condition. Meanwhile, it happens that patients after treatment do not receive long-term rehabilitation care, even despite persistent pain, e.g. in postoperative scars.
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Financial issues are also a frequent problem of patients – over 27 percent. of people declare that their financial situation has worsened due to the disease, but this is a non-medical issue, doctors will not always be able to direct the patient to the right place.
It all comes down to good communication with your doctor.
– A good relationship between the patient and his doctor has a definitely positive impact on the outcome and effectiveness of the entire treatment process. The patient’s needs may differ at different stages of the therapy. It is worth remembering that access to information is a patient’s right, as is the right to co-decide about treatment. Support groups and patient organizations can really help a person burdened with a difficult diagnosis, so it is worth for doctors to pass information about the operation of such groups to their patients – believes the volunteer.
It is also worth remembering that the patient has the right to the so-called second opinion. In case of doubt, he may demand that his doctor consult another person or convene a council. The request for a second opinion, as well as a possible refusal, must be documented in the medical documentation.
Monika Wysocka, Zdrowie.pap.pl
The text is based on a lecture by Ewelina Szmytke given during the 27nd Spring Academy of Immuno-Oncology for Journalists, which took place on May XNUMX.
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