Tag Archive for: Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila

Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

/in , /by

Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are some ways for cancer patients to be empowered by experts? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine shares his perspective and benefits of patient empowerment.

See More from Empowering Providers to Empower Patients (EPEP)

Related Resources:

Dr. Vinicius Ernani: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

 Beth Sandy: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

 Dr. Isaac Powell: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Dr. Isaac Powell: Why Is It Important for You to Empower Patients?

Transcript:

Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila: 

An empowered patient is a patient that does better, because they know what’s going on. They have a better understanding of the disease. They’re better engaged. So how do you empower your patients? It’s a very difficult question to answer, because I don’t think that there’s a recipe to do this. And every patient is different. But what I try to do is to educate patients and know that these are hard conversations that a lot of it is going to be over their head. So you have to do a lot of re-education. And when I say over their heads, I’m not meaning that they are not smart enough to get it, it’s just they’re going through a lot. So you have to be simple with them. You have to meet them where they are and just do a lot of re-education and talking about the things that you think you’ve talked about, but many times they were thinking about something else, and they didn’t get it.

Advice for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Considering Clinical Trials

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Advice for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Considering Clinical Trials from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What’s vital for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients to know about clinical trials? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine explains the impact of clinical trial on treatment advancements and questions for patients to ask when considering clinical trial participation. 

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…if you’re considering a clinical trial, to make sure you read that consent. And that consent can be difficult sometimes. So if you have questions, just ask. When patients are on clinical trials, there’s a whole team of people that are looking for that patient. So ask the questions that you may have from that consent with that patient.”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Lungs with lung cancer ribbon

 Megaphone

 Doctor speaking with male patient

Key Resources for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Families

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Why is clinical trial participation so important in small cell lung cancer? And what advice do you have for patients considering one?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

So clinical trials are very important, not only in small cell lung cancer, but in all cancers. The only way that we know how to treat this is by doing clinical trials. That is what moves the needle forward. It’s thanks to patients that participate in clinical trials that we know whether something worked or how much worked or something did not work, and we need to either get back to the drawing board or eliminate that possibility and move on.

Unfortunately, only the minority of patients participate in clinical trials and that is many times only because of access. So it’s important for patients to consider clinical trials. That is where we’re analyzing the future medications, and many of those future medications will become the standard of care and by participating in clinical trials, patients will have access to those medications.

And by participating in clinical trials, patients are also paying it forward. These clinical trials may not help them as much as possible, but they are helping those patients down the line. When patients are considering a clinical trial, there’s many questions that they need to ask is, “What does that involve for me? How frequently do I need to come to the cancer center? Aside from getting it, what else is asked from me? Am I being asked to also come to other blood draws, for example, or am I just receiving this treatment and that’s treatment by itself? Is there a randomized component to this clinical trial? Am I being elected to receive one arm or the other? Is there a placebo component in that trial?” The majority of patients with the majority of trials in cancer are not placebo-based.

But that’s important to know. “What help can the clinical trial give me?” Again, like we talked about, many clinical trials can help patients with lodging or transportation. So the activation tip for that is, if you’re considering a clinical trial, to make sure you read that consent. And that consent can be difficult sometimes.

So if you have questions, just ask. When patients are on clinical trials, there’s a whole team of people that are looking for that patient. So ask the questions that you may have from that consent with that patient. And I always encourage a clinical trial because again, that is what is helping us move the needle forward. 

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

Key Resources for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Families

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Key Resources for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Families from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What’s important for small cell lung cancer patients from underrepresented communities to know? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine shares advice for patient resources, his perspective about lung cancer stigma, and ways to mitigate issues with stigma.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…make sure that you ask your doctor, ‘Well, what about palliative care? What about social worker?’ or ‘I’m having trouble with this or that. Who can help me with this?’”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Lungs with lung cancer ribbon

 Megaphone

 Woman doctor speaking with woman patient.

Advice for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Considering Clinical Trials

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

What key resources and support services do you typically recommend or provide to SCLC patients, particularly from underrepresented communities following their diagnosis?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

That is a good question that I don’t know the right answer to. So part of the resources that we share with the patient is a visit with a social worker, a visit with a nutritionist, a visit with our colleagues in palliative care, that they’re all part of treatment of the patient with cancer that is available both for patients of underrepresented communities or other patients.

So that is the activation tip for that is make sure that you ask your doctor, “Well, what about palliative care? What about social worker?” or “I’m having trouble with this or that. Who can help me with this?” And like we said before is a patient empowerment is…a patient that is empowered is a patient that asks all those questions and receives more help. There’s a lot of help that is out there and the key is to connect those individuals.

Lisa Hatfield:

What is your advice for a patient living with small cell lung cancer in rural areas who might not have access to state-of-the-art cancer care?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

Yes. So first of all, although people living in rural areas do not have access to major cancer centers…or let me rephrase that. They do not live in major cancer centers. Thanks to technology, they do have access. How? With telehealth. A lot of things that I do, which is medications, they don’t really have to see me for treatment. I can give advice on the treatment that can be instituted anywhere. So patients that live, again, in Eastern Washington, which is a rural part of the state, can see me through telehealth, and I can help them and their physicians who are not sub-specialists to direct their care.

And again, it’s important to know that it’s not that we’re smarter than the general community oncologists. We’re not. We just have more experience in this disease. We’ve seen a lot of things that happen, so we are able to recognize things when they happen and just have access to more clinical trials. So the activation tip for that question is make sure that…we said that before, that you seek a second opinion.

And that may not involve travel for many hours. That may be as simple as a telehealth appointment with a major cancer center of such state to know what is available. And also know that many clinical trials can now actually pay for lodging and pay for transportation to those centers. So although it’s going to be trickier for them to receive them, living in a rural area does not mean that you’re not eligible for that.

Lisa Hatfield:

Have you encountered any misconceptions or stigmas related to small cell lung cancer within underrepresented communities? And how do you address or mitigate these issues with your patients?

Rafael Santana-Davila: 

There is a lot of stigma in this disease. We know that in the great majority of patients with small cell lung cancer and lung cancer in general, there is a smoking component to it. So patients feel that this is something that they brought upon themselves sometimes and there’s a lot of stigma associated with it. And that is not true. Yes, this is a smoking-related condition, but smoking is an addiction. Patients do not smoke because they want to. They smoke because they get addicted to it.

Everybody that I’ve met who’s a smoker at some point has wanted to quit and they cannot quit, not because they don’t have the willpower, or not because they’re weak, it’s because they can’t. This is an addiction. And it’s actually cancer, both small cell and lung cancer happens in the minority of smokers. So it’s important to know that this is…yes, quitting smoking could have prevented this cancer, but quitting smoking is nothing that is easy. And even if they quit smoking, this could have come.

So it’s important to patients to know that this is not…they should not blame themselves. This is both for underrepresented minorities and the patients at large. Don’t blame yourself for this. This is nothing that you could have prevented. And this is not your fault that this happened to you.” The activation tip for this is there’s a lot of what patients need to talk about, a lot of things, and these are hard conversations that you need to have. They’re not comfortable many times, but you need to open up. You need to have these conversations with your family, and you need to really say what’s in your heart. So that would be my activation tip. 

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

Small Cell Lung Cancer | Hope for Treatment Advancements

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Small Cell Lung Cancer | Hope for Treatment Advancements from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What does the future of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment look like? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine explains advances in SCLC research, treatments that are in clinical trials, and questions to ask about clinical trial access.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

…you need to ask the doctors, “Are there any clinical trials that you’re excited about that I should look into right now? Where are they available? And can I participate in that?”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Road with options of paths to take

 Sign saying what you need to know.

 
 Woman doctor speaking with woman patient.

Advice for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Considering Clinical Trials

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Often, SCLC patients feel like there’s so much information coming out about non-small cell lung cancer, but feel left out of these conversations. Can you share why small cell lung cancer patients should be hopeful for more conversations around advancements in the future?

Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila:

So that is a very important question, subject. And that is true. We see a lot of advances in non-small cell lung cancer and not that much in small cell lung cancer. I frequently say that small cell lung cancer is the bad brother, the black sheep that we don’t talk about. Part of that is because small cell lung cancer is just a more aggressive cancer, but part of that is it has not been studied as much as non-small cell. Non-small cell lung cancer is also a hodgepodge of diseases, and there are a variety of diseases that are nested into that category, so it’s natural to have more advances in that because there are more diseases. But I can tell patients that we’re making headways in small cell lung cancer.

We’re making headways in identifying those patients that we need to escalate therapy, we’re identifying novel treatments. There are different things in the pipeline that range from other methods of immuno-oncology, like complicated names like BiTE therapies or antibody drug conjugates that are coming out. There are a lot of epigenetic therapies that are coming out. So although it’s true that patients with non-small cell lung cancer have had more advances, there is still a lot of hope for the future. And what I can tell you it’s changing rapidly. And in a year, the treatments that we may have available will be different. And all those things are right now going into clinical trials. So that’s why the activation tip for that is you need to ask the doctors, “Are there any clinical trials that you’re excited about that I should look into right now? Where are they available? And can I participate in that?”

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

How Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Can Best Self-Advocate

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

How Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Can Best Self-Advocate from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How can small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients advocate for optimal care? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine shares advice for questions to ask your doctor and about the benefits of telehealth and clinical trials.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…make sure that you ask several questions to your doctor is, “Can I have access to a second opinion to a sub-specialist in lung cancer? Or have you thought about my case? And is there any availability of clinical trials here or in other centers?”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Road with options of paths to take

 Sign saying what you need to know.

 
 Woman doctor speaking with woman patient.

Advice for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Considering Clinical Trials

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

So one of your areas of research is studying how small cell lung cancer patients in the general population, those who don’t have access to cancer centers, are treated in order to figure out how to best bring the most recent advances in care to these individuals. Can you share with us some recent findings or learnings from your research, and how can these patients maybe best advocate for themselves?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

Medicine is a team sport. And this is also especially true for cancer. And the difference that…when I see patients, I tell them that it’s not that I’m smarter than the community oncologist. I’m not. The difference that I have with community oncologists is that I’m a sub-specialist. So who I treat are patients who have cancers of the chest or the head and neck. That means that I dedicated my career to treating those patients. And if you ask me questions about lung cancer or head and neck cancers, we can talk forever. But I’m no longer a specialist in treating all other cancers. Community oncologists don’t have that luxury.

So I do think that it’s very important for patients to get a second opinion, to have access to a major cancer center so that they can be sure that the plan of treatment is something that is the top of the line, the best treatment that is available. And they also ask about clinical trials, because there’s clinical trials out there that are moving the needle forward, and participation of those clinical trials is something that is very important. So having an opinion by somebody that, again, treats only lung cancers is very important. Now, the only thing good that COVID had was that it led to telehealth.

So nowadays I can see patients…I work in Seattle, so I can see patients that live across the state and in the farmland where they don’t have access to an academic medical center also to a sub-specialty, but I can see them through telehealth and I can…in the majority of cases, I say, “Yes, your doctor at home has a good plan. Let’s treat you with that.” Or I give some tips or tricks to the community oncologists, or I offer the latest and greatest in clinical trials and patients can make that decision at that point.

So the activation tip for this is make sure that you ask several questions to your doctor is, “Can I have access to a second opinion to a sub-specialist in lung cancer? Or have you thought about my case? And is there any availability of clinical trials here or in other centers?” That’s what I would tell patients. And patients need to be the best advocates for themselves and they are. They know that they’re going through a very rough time, but they just need to say, “What else can I do for this?”

Lisa Hatfield:

Great, thank you so much for that. And as a cancer patient myself and a patient advocate, I fiercely advocate for patients to always, if you get a cancer diagnosis, if you can, consult with somebody who is a specialist or a sub-specialist in the type of cancer you have. It can make a difference for you.

Rafael Santana-Davila:

I agree. And, again, with the era of telehealth, that has opened the ability for this.

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

Small Cell Lung Cancer and Immuno-Oncology | What Patients Need to Know

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Small Cell Lung Cancer and Immuno-Oncology | What Patients Need to Know from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What do immuno-oncology advancements mean for limited stage and extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC)? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine explains the research advancements in immuno-oncology and the status of these treatments and clinical trials for LS-SCLC and ES-SCLC patients.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…patients who are diagnosed with small cell lung cancer should ask a doctor, ‘What about immunotherapy? Is that the right thing for me?’”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Road with options of paths to take

 Question marks

 Doctor speaking with male patient

Key Resources for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Families

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Could you please explain research advancements in immuno-oncology and what this means for limited and extensive stage small cell lung cancer patients? And which patients have access to that?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

So, immuno-oncology is something that has completely changed the paradigm of treatment of patients with cancer, and very rough explanation, very simple is treatment that augments a patient’s own immune system so the immune system can recognize the cancer. This has changed dramatically how we, treat many cancers and many cancers, or sorry, many patients, when this is successful, can have very long survivals thanks to development of immunotherapy.

So, a few years ago, there were clinical trials that showed that the addition of PD-L1 inhibitors, which are a type of immunotherapy added to chemotherapy can both extend the duration of what we call progression-free survival, which is the amount of time before the cancer grows, as well as overall survival, which is obviously how long a patient lives.

But the addition of these medications can extend both of these numbers and is helping patients live longer. This was an extensive stage. So today there are two drugs that are approved by the FDA to add to the addition of chemotherapy. There are atezolizumab (Tecentriq), and durvalumab (Imfinzi). They are, in our eyes, equal.  One is not better than the other. And they are added to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is continued for, in the majority of cases, for four cycles, and then patients go on to receive immunotherapy by itself. This is an extensive stage lung cancer. A limited stage lung cancer, there are current clinical trials that are asking the question of whether these medications are also worth it, do they improve things?

We do not know the answer to that question as of today. We are also very hopeful that they do, but we’re waiting for the results of those clinical trials. So which patients have access to it today is those patients that have extensive stage disease and that is the standard of care. So an activation tip for this is patients who are diagnosed with small cell lung cancer should ask a doctor, “What about immunotherapy? Is that the right thing for me?”

And in the great majority of extensive stage disease, they will be eligible for unless there are contraindications. Some very main contraindications is a history of autoimmune diseases or patients that are in immunosuppressive drugs, but that is a minority of patients.

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

Small Cell Lung Cancer Care and Outcomes in Underrepresented Communities

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Small Cell Lung Cancer Care and Outcomes in Underrepresented Communities from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How does small cell lung cancer (SCLC) care look in underrepresented communities? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine explains how health outcomes differ in some ZIP codes and shares advice for questions to ask your doctor to access optimal SCLC care.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…patients should ask their doctors, ‘What are the latest advances in this disease? Am I eligible for it to receive those advances? And where can I see a sub-specialist in this disease? And is it a worthwhile point?’”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Body showing lung cancer

 Question marks

 Doctor speaking with male patient

Key Resources for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Families

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Does treating small cell lung cancer patients in underrepresented communities look different than the general population? And are there specific considerations or recommendations SCLC patients from underrepresented communities when it comes to treatment options, including clinical trials or targeted therapies?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

In the majority of cases, patients treated in underrepresented communities do not look different than in the general population in small cell lung cancer. Why? It’s because community oncologists are very good. So they have a hard job, but they’re very good. So the majority of patients get the standard of treatment.

Although we know though that patients with underrepresented communities do fare worse.  And we do not know the reasons for that. A lot of that is because of poverty or many other things. I’ve seen people say that one of the main factors that will determine how long you live is what ZIP code you were born in. So underrepresented communities do do worse in general, not specifically for small cell, but in general.

I do think that what we..like we said before is what patients need to do is advocate for themselves and ask their doctors, “Am I eligible for a clinical trial? Am I eligible for what is the latest and greatest for the disease? Any new advances that you see coming?”And like we said before is seek a second opinion with a sub-specialist in the treating of this disease.

So as like we said before in terms of activation, is you need to…patients need to ask their doctors, “What are the latest advances in this disease? Am I eligible for it to receive those advances? And where can I see a sub-specialist in this disease? And is it a worthwhile point?” Many times it may not be an initial diagnosis, but when patients have recurring disease, that’s when clinical trials are really important because that’s where we’re making the most advances in the treatment of small cell lung cancers, when patients have disease that has recurred despite chemo-immunotherapy.

So my activation tip for this is that patients should ask their doctors, “What are the latest developments in the treatment of this lung cancer? And am I eligible to receive those treatments? And is this a time where I should seek a second opinion or be referred to a clinical trial and another center?”

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

What Treatment Options Are Available for Small Cell Lung Cancer?

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

What Treatment Options Are Available for Small Cell Lung Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What do extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and limited stage SCLC patients need to know about treatments? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine shares a status update on where treatment options stand and discusses how he works with patients on treatment decisions.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…patients need to make sure that they know what the goals are. ‘What is…where am I going to…how am I going to feel in the next month? What is the likelihood that this cancer is going to shrink and this cancer is going to make me live longer?’”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Body showing lung cancer

 Question marks

 Doctor looking at a scan of lungs.

Small Cell Lung Cancer | Hope for Treatment Advancements

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

So what is the latest information related to treatment options for limited stage LS and extensive stage ES small cell lung cancer? And how do you work with your patients to make treatment decisions about that?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

So this is, unfortunately, a disease where little progress has been made throughout the years because it’s a very aggressive disease. And the main improvement that has been made in the last five years is the addition of immunotherapy to chemotherapy in patients with extensive stage disease. There have now been several clinical trials that have shown that adding immunotherapy improves overall survival. That means that patients live longer.

And there is a very small, but a few patients that have, that see survival into the many years, which is something that was unthinkable before the era of immunotherapy. We do not know if the addition of immunotherapy to limited stage disease, which treatment is, in the majority of cases, chemotherapy and radiation, we do not know if that works or not, that there are clinical trials that are going on, most of them have completed accrual, so we’re just waiting for the data to mature to let us know if that is something that also works there.

We have a lot of hope that it’s the case, but right now, in September 2023, we do not know the answer for that. What I work…how I work with patients to make treatment decisions is I present them with the options of the treatment. So there are always options from being as aggressive as we can to treat it, to try to shrink the cancer, which, many times, comes at the price of side effects to just doing best supportive care, which is we know that sometimes shrinking the cancer is not what is going to make people live longer.

So it’s a conversation that we constantly have with patients where we say, “This is what we propose, this is what the consequences of treatment is going to be, and these are the alternatives.” And you have to work with them depending on their goals, depending on what they want to achieve, you make treatment decisions.

Ultimately, what I tell my patients is, “You’re the captain of the ship. I’m here just to help you navigate these rough waters, but, ultimately, you’re the one that needs to tell me where we want to go.” Okay. An activation tip is patients need to make sure that they know what the goals are. “What is…where am I going to…how am I going to feel in the next month? What is the likelihood that this cancer is going to shrink and this cancer is going to make me live longer?” Those are the questions that they need to make sure they understand.

And something that also they want to know is, what are the goals? It’s very different when you see a very young patient, their goal is to see their high school kid enter college than a 90-year-old patient that their goal is maybe to live the rest of their life with the least intervention or with the least side effects possible. So every patient has different goals. 

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

Key Questions to Ask About Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Key Questions to Ask About Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What should small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients ask to help prepare themselves? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine shares how he explains small cell lung cancer, particularly extensive stage SCLC to patients and key questions to ask about treatment and care.

[ACT]IVATION TIP

“…you need to talk to your doctors and say, ‘Okay, what am I looking at? What are the goals of treatment? How am I going to feel in the next month? How am I going to feel in the next three months? And where am I going to be in the next six months? And what is my prognosis? And what do you expect to happen?’”

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Body showing lung cancer

 Sign saying what you need to know.

 Doctor looking at a scan of lungs.

Small Cell Lung Cancer | Hope for Treatment Advancements

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Dr. Santana-Davila, how do you explain extensive stage small cell lung cancer to your newly diagnosed patients? And what are key questions that patients and families should ask at the outset of their care?

Rafael Santana-Davila:

Oh, great. Thank you. Thank you for that. That is a great question. So patients who have metastatic small cell lung cancer, which is the majority of those with extensive stage, it’s a disease that is not curable, that we treat with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, that the majority of patients have a great response to treatment.

But our goal of treatment is to make patients feel better and have patients hopefully live longer. One of the key questions that families should ask at the outset of care, and this is for extensive stage cancer as well as any other cancer, is “What are the goals of treatment? What do I expect it to be? How is my life going to look a few months from now? And what can I expect?” That is, for me, very important that patients know before they start on the journey of treatment.

How do I explain what extensive stage is? What does it mean…how I explain this to patients is this is a cancer that has arose in your lung and has moved to other places. So we cannot cure it. We can treat it. We can hopefully shrink it and help you to live longer and live better. The majority of patients that present with this disease present with a lot of symptoms. They present with symptoms from the cancer. And many times it’s an emergency to try to treat them as soon as possible.

So this is a conversation that we have with them that we tell them, “It’s very likely that you will feel better, that you’ll respond to treatment.” But again, an activation tip is you need to talk to your doctors and say, “Okay, what am I looking at? What are the goals of treatment? How am I going to feel in the next month? How am I going to feel in the next three months? And where am I going to be in the next six months? And what is my prognosis? And what do you expect to happen?” 

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey

What Is the Difference Between Limited Stage and Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer?

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

What is the Difference Between Limited Stage and Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Limited stage and extensive stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are two different types, but how do they differ? Dr. Rafael Santana-Davila with the University of Washington School of Medicine explains limited stage SCLC versus extensive stage SCLC, treatment methods for each type, and the importance of communication.

See More from [ACT]IVATED Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)

Related Resources:

Question marks

 Lungs with lung cancer ribbon

 Doctor looking at a scan of lungs.

Small Cell Lung Cancer | Hope for Treatment Advancements

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Can you explain the difference between limited stage and extensive stage small cell lung cancer, please?

Rafael Santana-Davila: 

So this is actually a historical definition. Back in, I don’t know the date exactly, but somewhere in the 1980s, how we treated this was when patients…the radiation doctor could treat all the area of disease with radiation, then we call that limited. And limited stage disease means that the person, the patient can get radiation and chemotherapy with the goal of eradicating the disease. Extensive stage is when the disease cannot be treated with a single area of radiation.

In the majority of cases, there’s a very clear distinction, for example, patient has metastatic disease to the liver, that clearly is extensive, stage, but there are occasions where, limited and extensive is very hard to know and the radiation doctor would…two different radiation doctors will give you two different things.

And the important thing in this case is that this is a…all of medicine is a team sport, but treatment of cancer is more because the medical oncologists need to talk to the radiation oncologists to make sure that we’re on the same page as to what is the best treatment we can offer a patient. 

Share Your Feedback:

Create your own user feedback survey