We often write about the early detection of lung cancer. It is well known, when it comes to lung cancer, early detection saves lives. Unfortunately, not all lung cancer can be detected early. Many times, lung cancer screening is not available or not prescribed for certain individuals. As a result, lung cancer sometimes does not get detected early. But late-stage diagnosis with lung cancer is not without hope.
Stage IV lung cancer is a traumatic diagnosis. It is often accompanied by symptoms like shortness of breath, cough and hemoptysis (coughing up blood). At this stage, cancer treatment is most often palliative in nature. That means it is designed not to cure, but to relieve pain and make the patient comfortable. New approaches to Stage IV cancer, specifically NSCLC, can help patients live a longer and a better life.
While palliative treatment has long been the standard of care, there is literature to suggest that surgery to manage Stage IV lung cancer may be indicated. Oligometastatic lung cancer, or lung cancer that has spread to a limited number of other body parts, can be treated with surgery and even cured. This can provide new hope for patients diagnosed with Stage IV cancer who do not have metastasis to distant sites in the body.
Stage IV lung cancer patients can also often be treated with targeted therapy. This can be done in conjunction with surgery or by itself. After the initial diagnosis, gene testing is the standard of care in NSCLC patients. This testing can reveal abnormal gene mutations that are susceptible to certain targeted therapies. These oral targeted therapy agents can shrink tumors and do so without the life-altering side effects of chemotherapy. After this course of targeted therapy, surgery to remove the cancer may even be possible.
At Doran and Murphy, we have represented many railroad workers with Stage IV lung cancer. Some have had better treatment results than others, however, new therapies are providing new hope to many individuals diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. If you have been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, ask your doctors about these treatment possibilities. If you are a railroad worker and you have been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, contact us today to discuss your rights as a railroad worker.
