Tag: cancer care

What are clinical trials and why are they important?

Posted on by Julie Scott, DNP

Clinical trials are research studies to help find new cancer treatments. Every medication or treatment must go through clinical trials to be approved. Clinical trials are an important part of cancer care.

There are different phases to clinical trials.

Phase I trials are also called dose-finding trials. During this phase, the safe dose and administration of a new medication is determined.

Phase II trials are done after the safe dose is determined after a phase I trial. During phase II, the medication is given to see what the effect of the medication is on cancer and to see if there are any negative effects that the medication causes.

Phase III trials are done to see how the new medication compares to the currently available treatment. During these trials, the safe dose and administration are known, and people are observed for how their cancer responds to the treatment. This is often compared to the currently used treatments to see which is better.

Clinical trials are closely observed by many people and organizations while they are taking place to be sure they are completed safely. These can include the institutional review board (IRB), the research team, and the Data and Safety Monitoring Board.

Clinical trials cannot be done without the consent of the patient. No one will participate in a clinical trial without their knowledge and informed consent. Before enrolling in a trial, the risks and benefits of the trial will be reviewed, and the patient will have the opportunity to ask questions. Once they feel fully informed and want to proceed, they will be enrolled in the trial.

If you’re interested in looking for a clinical trial, the first step would be to speak with your cancer care team. Clinical trials are not done at every cancer center; you may need to go elsewhere for a trial.

Each trial has specific qualifications someone has to have in order to enroll in the trial. If you’re selected to enroll, the trial team will discuss all of the details with you. This may include the schedule of medication administration, the number, and timing of lab tests and office visits, as well as the schedule of imaging.

There are many potential benefits to participating in a clinical trial, but it’s important that you make the decision that is right for you. Be sure to talk to your cancer care team about any questions or concerns you may have. Thank you for reading, and we hope this article was educational.

You can also visit www.clinicaltrials.gov for more information on open trials near you.

 

 

Small Cell Lung Cancer ( SCLC)

Posted on by Zain Syed

Lung cancer forms in the lung tissues, most often in the cells that line air passages. These cells grow and multiply uncontrollably, usually due to exposure to toxins such as tobacco, smoke, asbestos, and radiation. 

Diagnosis:

If your doctor suspects you have lung cancer, they will do a diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scan. A CT scan gives the Doctor a detailed 3D scan.

If they find that there might be cancer, they may do a positron emission tomography (PET) scan that can detect cancer that the CT scan could not by using radioactive sugar. Cancer cells will use up the sugar much faster than our normal body cells.

If the PET scan confirms what the CT scan shows, then the final step to confirming you have cancer is taking some tissue from the cancerous areas to test. This is called a biopsy.

Once they have all the information, they will determine your cancer stage. The stage of cancer will help your doctor decide how to treat you. Staging is done on a numerical scale of 1-4. The higher the number, the more it has grown.

Treatment:

Faster growing and treated slightly differently than non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). You will still do the same scans, but with SCLC, they may also get a scan of your brain because SCLC is fast-growing cancer and can spread to the brain.

For early-stage SCLC, chemoradiation is used just like NSCLC. The preferred agents are carboplatin, etoposide, atezolizumab, and durvalumab. Generally, your therapy will have carboplatin and etoposide with either atezolizumab or durvalumab.

Risk Factors:

The most common cause of lung cancer is smoking. Other common causes can include exposure to secondhand smoke, asbestos, family history, other lung diseases, and a history of infections such as tuberculosis.

Follow-up:

After completing your therapy, you will follow up with your doctor every 3-6 months for the first 2-3 years. They may repeat your scans and blood work to ensure that the cancer is not returning or growing.

Your doctor might want to see you sooner if they think it is medically necessary.

Things to think about:

  • Always get a second opinion. Healthcare professionals are humans and can see things differently.
  • A biopsy is a gold standard for diagnosing solid tumor cancers. You should not just start therapy without having one.
  • If you are feeling ill, having nausea, or anything out of the ordinary during your treatment, let your treatment team know! They might be able to help you. Remember, they are trying to help you, not make you miserable.
  • The best way to fight cancer is to catch it early. So, see your doctor yearly for a physical and screen early, especially if you have risk factors. The slight inconvenience is worth it!

 

How to make the most out of the cancerGO mobile app

Posted on by Pinaki Saha

Welcome to cancerGO and we are delighted that you took the first step towards building a support community that allows you to engage, listen, answer questions, share information, and offer valuable and timely advice. Our platform enables a social network that strives to solve a fundamental problem – democratizing access to information, knowledge, resources, support, and guidance.

Once you register on the cancerGO mobile app, you are able to do multitude of things right away.

Navigate inside your public feed where you can browse cancer related posts, personal stories, tips, articles, and many other informational content. Post a question or a story about your cancer journey. Follow other patients, survivors, caregivers, and physicians. Reach out and send direct messages, and socialize on a cancer-only network.

Find and engage with a physician

You may engage with our physician and specialist community – one of a kind opportunity to start a conversation outside of your hospital network. If you are anxious about your condition and have a burning question, reach out to our growing network of oncologists, therapists, and healthcare professionals, using all social tools that you are already familiar with. Meanwhile, if you are physician, you can use our platform to respond to someone’s question or concern immediately. It is a key step towards destigmatizing cancer by disseminating vetted information to fight misinformation.

Lookup a support organization near you

As a patient or a survivor, you can look up a support organization near you. We are building cancerGO to be the one-stop destination for any cancer related support. As we onboard more non-profits and for-profit support organizations, you may check out local events and activities close to you where you can discover other patients and survivors. Reach out to these organizations from our mobile app easily and plan your next activity. Meanwhile, if you are a member of a support organization and believe that bringing your organization onboard can help many others to connect and benefit, please share it with us and we will reach out to them.

For any app related support questions, you can go to Settings and select Contact Support. Or you may reach directly at support@cancergo.org.

Cancer: A disease we can no longer ignore

Posted on by Vino Cherian

Welcome to cancerGO;

we are honored to have you on your platform. cancerGo is a social network platform where oncologists democratize access to knowledge, interpret cancer medicine for a broader audience, and provide accurate cancer-related information to counteract misinformation. We want to equip patients with the correct information to fight cancer efficiently!

Connecting with cancer patients matters more than ever! We hope we partner with you to share and disseminate information with patients, caregivers, and survivors. We also aim to have a partnership where communication is open and goes both ways. In addition, through cancerGo, you can change oncology by providing perspective outside the four walls of the cancer center by involving patients, advocates, and the public.”

As an oncologist, you can use cancerGo to build interactive strategies, such as direct patient engagement, reaching out to potential patients, and sharing information about your organization or private practice. You can gain a following of patients, and you can not only establish a way to regularly communicate with patients but also pave the way for patients to establish an online community to communicate with each other.

Benefits for Oncologists

Many benefits come with joining cancerGo as an Oncologist.

  • You can play a significant role in getting accurate cancer-related information OUT through a dedicated oncology platform with a dedicated audience.
  • You can connect and have a conversation, either with other experts or peers, to learn and disseminate information.
  • You can advance your career by discussing publications, lectures, and a broader range of issues adjacent to the cancer you treat, including healthcare policy and cancer-care topics.

Summary

Above all, as an oncologist, you can end the stigma faced by patients who receive their cancer diagnosis. CancerGO’s platform is a great way to get your message out to cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. For those reasons, I thank you for your presence on cancerGo, and together, we will fight to destigmatize cancer. 

Cancer patients and survivors find community and support on cancerGO

Posted on by Pinaki Saha

On behalf of caregivers and survivors, we welcome you to cancerGo. Our social network is the first ever dedicated exclusively to people living with or fighting cancer – it is a safe space where they can connect with others who understand what they are going through; seek help from those who have experience with cancer while sharing stories of hope along their journey – it can be difficult at times, but there is always someone else out here waiting! Your support is not limited by where you receive treatment, making cancerGo special!

The fear and anxiety of a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. That is why we created cancerGo to provide support when going through life-changing events. 

Cancer is an isolating disease. People often feel like they are going through it alone, even though many cancer patients receive support from friends and family members throughout their journey- joining a community platform can be very beneficial. When they log in to cancerGo, they realize they are part of a community in their fight against cancer. Confusion, loneliness, and lack of access to information about how best to fight back against this life-threatening illness.” no longer stand in the way.

Support organizations on cancerGO network

The support for people with cancers is not limited to emotional support, financial worries, and information about the disease on cancerGo. Support groups within cancerGo focus on all cancer types, while other support groups are tailored to a specific cancer subtype. These blogs are regularly updated by a team of experts who provide valuable insights into all types of cancers and chat rooms designed specifically for those living through it mentally or physically; cancerGo offers an opportunity to meet other patients just like yourself!

In addition, there are also videos on various cancer-related topics like should I move back home after being diagnosed? What does prolonged vomiting entail – one might ask, and much more.

At first, you may feel like you do not belong in a support group. That is normal. It takes time to get comfortable sharing your feelings with strangers. Stick with it, and you will likely find that the support group becomes an integral part of your cancer journey.

With its personal touch and unique approach, “cancerGo” is a vital, interactive resource for people affected by cancer. Our mission is to put patients and survivors at the center of their care, support them through their journey, and empower them to take control of their lives!

Thank you for choosing and downloading cancerGo. Please get in touch with us with suggestions to improve cancerGo and serve your needs.

When You Have Cancer: The Importance of Relationships

Posted on by admin

All of us understand the importance of our relationships. We always need each other, but we need one another even more than usual when faced with a crisis. Cancer certainly qualifies as a people-needing time.

Cancer Human Resources 101

If there were a required introductory course for newly diagnosed cancer patients, it ought to be something like “Cancer Human Resources 101”. Whenever I talk with someone who is entering Cancer World, I ask about the people and connections in their lives.

I have learned never to make assumptions about whom they can rely upon for ongoing support. For example, I have known a number of married people whose spouses were the opposite of reliable and helpful. The real risk in those situations is that others may assume that the spouse is right there being helpful and may not offer what they might for a single friend.

It is always instructive to make a list, either literally or figuratively, of whom you think will be helpful through cancer. I encourage people to do this and then to put the list away and look at it a year later. Inevitably, we make some guesses that turn out not to be right. Some of the people whom we expected to be close and faithful will not be, while others may step up in a surprising and wonderful way.

Cancer is changing relationships

Everyone has some relationships that are changed, for better or for worse, by cancer. At the far end of the experience, there will be time to consider these relationships and decide if it is worth trying to mend some that have been damaged.

As is always true, there is not a clear right or wrong answer here. It feels risky to reach out to a friend who has disappointed you and share your perspective. Even understanding that your old friend may have vanished because she was too frightened by your diagnosis or too hurt by another cancer loss in her life does not make it easy. You may decide that a particular friendship is or is not worth the risk.

Building a friendship list

Clearly one of the reasons for suggesting this list is to encourage people to think about all of their possible “human resources.” They may be found in different parts of our lives: family, friends who are nearby, friends who are geographically distant, acquaintances, neighbors, co-workers, employers, people who attend the same church or synagogue, etc.

Once the list has been made, you are faced with the next challenge: how to ask for and accept help. Many of us are much better at offering assistance than at accepting it, and our instinct may be to reject offers that actually could be helpful. Remind yourself that other people truly want to help as you move through cancer. You are being kind to them to say yes to their offer to bring dinner, drive the carpool, or do the grocery shopping. Think of this as a win/win situation; you get something you need, and they get to feel good about themselves.

Potential hurdle

Another potential hurdle is what people may say to you. Even if we assume they are speaking from a kind and caring perspective, it is often not advice you want to hear. People may ask detailed questions about your situation that you have no mandate to answer. People may suggest all kinds of cancer treatments or tell you stories about others who have been through a similar diagnosis.

Furthermore, people may send you links to all kinds of cancer information or bring books that purport to teach you to cure cancer with diet, supplements, or learning to better control your anger. You do not have to read any of them. You can always politely say thank you and then immediately trash the offending literature.

If someone says something that is truly outlandish, hurtful, or inappropriate, here is my best all-purpose response: Pause for a moment and then ask, questioningly (not angrily), Why did you ask me that? Why did you just say that? Inevitably, this takes the focus off you and back to them and, usually, results in some squirming and maybe even an apology.

Expanding your thinking

As you consider where and how best to find the people who will most help you, here are a few questions to help expand your thinking:

  • Who is supportive of your emotional needs and can align with your hopes?
  • Where else might you look for support?
  • Who has already offered to help? What might they be good at?
  • Which tasks or errands could best to assigned to each potential helper?
  • Who can always make you laugh? (Encourage these relationships!)
  • Are there people whom you don’t want in your life right now? This is perfectly okay; you don’t owe anyone anything at this moment.
  • Have you considered joining a support group or another cancer-related organization where you could find community?

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