Lung cancer is the most common form of the disease in the world, claiming more than 1.3 million lives each year. 80 to 90 percent of all lung cancer cases are attributed to smoking tobacco. Most lung cancers are of the non-small cell variety, with adenocarcinoma being the most common type in women.
Kathy Brandt learned all of this and more when she was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. Her pulmonologist discovered the cancer in her left lung while Kathy was in for a checkup for her emphysema.
“You feel like you have been hit by a ton of bricks,” Kathy remembers about her reaction upon hearing the diagnosis. “It was truly terrifying, but then the decision needs to be made where you are going to seek treatment.”
Learn more about Kathy’s story about proton therapy for lung cancer in her own words here.
The type of treatment needed can often drive that decision. There are three main treatment types for lung cancer: Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Surgery has been the “gold standard” for lung cancer. It is possible to completely remove cancers surgically that have not metastasized and spread either to or from the lungs. If the cancer has spread, however, then surgery is combined with other treatment. Possible side effects include local pain, damage to surrounding tissue and the threat of infection.
Chemotherapy uses strong chemicals to target rapidly dividing cells throughout the body. These chemicals kill both the original tumor cells as well as any cells that have spread. That means healthy cells are targeted as well, but these cells recover while cancer cells do not. Chemotherapy is often given as an adjuvant therapy designed to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence after surgery. Side effects may include nausea and vomiting, loss of hair and appetite, diarrhea and anemia.
Radiation treatment before or after surgery or in conjunction with other therapy is used to destroy or shrink tumors. This can be done to try and kill tumors entirely, to kill remaining cancer cells after surgery, or to kill cancer cells that have spread. However, it damages other cells as well, those healthy normal cells surrounding the cancer. Possible side effects include fatigue, nausea, hair loss and loss of appetite.
“First I had surgery. I had a left upper lobectomy, where half of my left lung was removed,” Kathy explained. “That was followed by chemotherapy and then radiation.”
Kathy had her proton therapy for lung cancer at Penn Medicine.
“Penn Medicine was a wonderful choice for us. They used a team approach. I saw an oncologist, a radiologist and a surgeon,” she said, “all located at Penn Medicine.”
“They were all genuinely concerned and genuinely caring and wanted to make me healthy again, and that was evident from the first day I went there”.
The main reason she went to Penn Medicine for lung cancer treatment, however, was for the option Penn Medicine offered Kathy that no one else in the region could – proton therapy for lung cancer as her radiation treatment, under the same roof as all of her other treatments.
“They offer proton therapy for lung cancer, which was especially important to me. I was concerned about the scatter from radiation, and proton therapy has less scatter, and therefore the chances would be less that I would have damage to any other internal organ,” Kathy explained.
Treatment at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center uses genetically targeted proton beams to destroy cancer cells. This is a particularly important factor in lung cancer treatment due to the proximity of the heart to the lungs. And it also means fewer side effects for patients.
“It was wonderful. I continued to work the whole time”, Kathy said. “I went to work, came home, and enjoyed my grandchildren,” Kathy said of the days she was receiving treatment. After five weeks, Kathy was cancer free.
“What survivorship means to me, first of all, is not to sweat the small stuff,” she said. “I definitely embrace every day.”
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