Latest / Cyrus Webb's tracks / Dr. Ashish Saxena and Wendy Brooks discuss research advancement for lung cancer patients

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Dr. Ashish Saxena and Wendy Brooks discuss research advancement for lung cancer patients · Cyrus Webb's tracks

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  Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Conversations Live. I'm your host,
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  Speaker 1: Cyrus Webb. Glad you all could join us once again.
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  Speaker 1: For a radio audience tuning in at WYAD 94.1 FM
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  Speaker 1: and WYADonline.com, we're glad that you all can be with us. Also,
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  Speaker 1: join us online worldwide via our podcast at iHeartRadio and
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  Speaker 1: Amazon Music, as well as the Conversations Radio Network. We're
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  Speaker 1: glad you all could be with us as well. This
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  Speaker 1: is part of a music and news segment here at WYAD,
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  Speaker 1: and today we're talking about small cell lung cancers, small
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  Speaker 1: cell lung cancer disease. It's one of the most aggressive
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  Speaker 1: forms of lung cancer, but a wave of research is
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  Speaker 1: giving patients new reasons for hope. Clinical trials are bringing
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  Speaker 1: promising treatments to patients while also focusing on helping them
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  Speaker 1: live better, not just longer. Here to talk to us
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  Speaker 1: about the importance of clinical trials, as well as patients
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  Speaker 1: being able to advocate for themselves, we're excited to welcome
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  Speaker 1: two guests to our broadcast. We have Dr. Ashish Saxena
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  Speaker 1: joining us today, who's an oncologist, as well as we
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  Speaker 1: have a small cell lung cancer patient and advocate, Wendy
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  Speaker 1: Brooks is going to share a bit of her story
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  Speaker 1: as well. Thanks to the two of you for stopping by.
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  Speaker 1: I really appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Saxena, I feel like I know you already. I was
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  Speaker 1: watching some interviews and features you did on YouTube talking
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  Speaker 1: about the importance of clinical trials, and that's why I'm
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  Speaker 1: so glad we could have this conversation.
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  Speaker 3: But, Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Saxena, I want to ask you. What's the potentially life-saving
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  Speaker 1: question many lung cancer patients don't know to ask when
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  Speaker 1: they're first diagnosed?
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  Speaker 2: You know, one of the most important questions you can
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  Speaker 2: ask when you're first diagnosed is, is there a clinical
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  Speaker 2: trial available for me that fits the type of tumor
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  Speaker 2: that I have and my circumstances? So a lot of times,
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  Speaker 2: you know, there are a lot of innovative treatments out
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  Speaker 2: there now for small cell lung cancer that are really
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  Speaker 2: coming fast and furious. And so, educating yourself about them
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  Speaker 2: and asking your doctor, particularly up front when your first
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  Speaker 2: diagnosis is very important and can be impactful. There are
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  Speaker 2: some trials that are only available for patients when they're
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  Speaker 2: first diagnosed and they haven't had any other treatment yet.
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  Speaker 2: So asking about it up front ensures that you're eligible
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  Speaker 2: for that study and can go on that trial. So
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  Speaker 2: that's really important to know. And sometimes the doctors don't
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  Speaker 2: always bring it up or may not be as familiar
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  Speaker 2: with every single trial because there's just so many. There's
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  Speaker 2: no way for us to keep track of everything. And
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  Speaker 2: so it's also important for the patients to learn themselves
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  Speaker 2: and ask the question.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And Wendy, that's why I'm so glad to have you
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  Speaker 1: on with us. And thank you so much for not
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  Speaker 1: only advocating for yourself, but also helping others to advocate
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  Speaker 1: for themselves too. Wendy, for you, I mean, why is
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  Speaker 1: it important to be able to ask about these clinical
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  Speaker 1: trials early, especially before treatment begins?
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  Speaker 3: Well, yes. Like Dr. Saxana said, If there is a
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  Speaker 3: trial that is out there that's going to give me
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  Speaker 3: the best medicine or a small cell lung cancer patient
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  Speaker 3: the best medicine today, and you have to be treatment
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  Speaker 3: naive that you haven't had any prior treatment, you need
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  Speaker 3: to know that so that you can make the best
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  Speaker 3: informed decision about your care.
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  Speaker 1: Wendy, you know, I think, as I mentioned in my lead-in,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of times, you know, people are thinking about
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  Speaker 1: being able to not just to live longer, but also
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  Speaker 1: they want to be able to live better. What has
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  Speaker 1: that meant for you personally during your treatment journey to
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  Speaker 1: make sure that you are able to enjoy your quality
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  Speaker 1: of life?
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  Speaker 3: Oh, it's just meant the world. Having these novel therapies
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  Speaker 3: available to me and how I've responded with them has
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  Speaker 3: not just with tumor reduction but also with my quality
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  Speaker 3: of life, has been amazing, something that I never expected.
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  Speaker 3: We all have this preconceived notion of what it's like
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  Speaker 3: to have cancer and to go through chemotherapy. But these
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  Speaker 3: new treatments are just incredible. They're taking your body, your
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  Speaker 3: immune system, and actually battling the cancer together. in order
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  Speaker 3: to destroy it, with little to no side effects in
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  Speaker 3: some cases, at least for me. So it's just meant
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  Speaker 3: the world.
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  Speaker 1: That's something I want to ask you. I mean, we
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  Speaker 1: hear about patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials, and I know, again,
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  Speaker 1: as I noticed in my prep, this is something you
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  Speaker 1: talk a whole lot about. Why is it so important
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  Speaker 1: for researchers to understand how patients actually feel about not
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  Speaker 1: just what appears on the scan for them.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's a really important part of research
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  Speaker 2: now because we understand that having patients live well as
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  Speaker 2: they go through treatment is an important goal in and
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  Speaker 2: of itself. And a lot of times the only way
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  Speaker 2: we can know that is with the patient-reported outcomes where
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  Speaker 2: there are usually surveys where patients tell us as they
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  Speaker 2: go through a study how they're feeling, what side effects
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  Speaker 2: are they having, are they getting better, are they feeling worse.
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  Speaker 2: And that teaches us what to expect for when, you know,
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  Speaker 2: hopefully this drug is then approved and everybody can get it.
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  Speaker 2: What side effects should we be expecting? How do we
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  Speaker 2: mitigate those side effects early and not wait too long?
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  Speaker 2: And what treatments maybe, you know, have a good effect
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  Speaker 2: but make the patient not feel well for a long
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  Speaker 2: time and maybe aren't the best treatments to take forward?
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  Speaker 2: So the only way we learn that is through things
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  Speaker 2: like patient report outcomes and research because there are things that,
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  Speaker 2: I just can't tell by a blood test or a scan.
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  Speaker 2: I need the patient to tell me, and I say
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  Speaker 2: that to my patients. I can't tell how you're feeling.
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  Speaker 2: You have to tell me how you're feeling. So that's
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  Speaker 2: why those are really important.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I have to have that conversation with my parents
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  Speaker 1: all the time. And, Wendy, this is something that you
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  Speaker 1: really are a proponent for, as well. So if you
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  Speaker 1: don't mind, talk to our audience about why is it
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  Speaker 1: so important for patients to speak up about their side
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  Speaker 1: effects and how they're feeling and not worrying about if
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  Speaker 1: they may be seen as complaining.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, and that is a very good point, Cyrus. People
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  Speaker 3: need to be able to have honest conversations with their oncologist.
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  Speaker 3: There are things that you may be going through that
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  Speaker 3: you feel are well, I'm not going to report that
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  Speaker 3: because I'm just bothering them and it's something that I'll
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  Speaker 3: probably just get over. But really, your doctor may have
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  Speaker 3: a great solution for you. And without telling them, they
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  Speaker 3: don't know. They're not mind readers, as Dr. Saxana said.
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  Speaker 3: It doesn't show up on the blood test or the scan.
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  Speaker 3: You have to be your own advocate and report that information,
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  Speaker 3: and oftentimes there's going to be great relief for you.
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  Speaker 1: And Wendy, while I'm there with you, what message would
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  Speaker 1: you like to share with someone who has just been
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  Speaker 1: diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and may feel like
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  Speaker 1: they're losing hope?
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  Speaker 3: I would like to share with them that I understand
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  Speaker 3: when I was diagnosed in 2023, it's scary. And I
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  Speaker 3: want them to know it's not 2023 anymore, it's 2026.
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  Speaker 3: And there is so much hope. And just in the
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  Speaker 3: last three years, New research developments have come down the pike,
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  Speaker 3: and we are getting tomorrow's medicine to us today, and
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  Speaker 3: that's why it's so important that you find out about
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  Speaker 3: clinical trials and see what the best option is for you.
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  Speaker 1: And to that point, Dr. Saxon, I want to ask you,
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  Speaker 1: what advances in small cell cancer research give you the
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  Speaker 1: greatest hope for improving quality of life for patients?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so there are so many. And like I said,
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  Speaker 2: there are many innovative treatments. So things like immunotherapies, treatments
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  Speaker 2: that help your immune system to kill the small cell
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  Speaker 2: lung cancer in many different ways. including the study that
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  Speaker 2: Wending is on. There are also antibody drug conjugates that
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  Speaker 2: are antibodies directed specifically at proteins in the small cell
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  Speaker 2: lung cancer that carry chemotherapy along with them, as opposed
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  Speaker 2: to having sort of chemotherapy given freely into your bloodstream.
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  Speaker 2: Those have been really impactful and promising, as well as
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  Speaker 2: sort of learning more about the molecular biology of small
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  Speaker 2: cell lung cancer so that we can find out their
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  Speaker 2: specific weaknesses and hopefully tailor medications to specific patients based
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  Speaker 2: on their specific tumors. So all of those things give
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  Speaker 2: me a lot of hope, and things are really changing
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  Speaker 2: dramatically for small cell lung cancer. I have patients doing
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  Speaker 2: so well now and are just like Wendy, you know,
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  Speaker 2: getting their treatment, coming in, but then living their full
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  Speaker 2: life otherwise.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'm so glad to have you all here to
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  Speaker 1: be able to talk about such an important topic. Again, everyone, Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Ashish Axana has been our guest as well as Wendy Brooks,
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  Speaker 1: sharing her own story, talking with us about small cell
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  Speaker 1: lung cancer, what you need to know about treatment options,
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  Speaker 1: but also the importance of clinical trials as well.
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  Speaker 2: Dr.
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  Speaker 1: Susana, how can our audience find out more information?
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  Speaker 2: They can learn more about clinical trials in small cell
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  Speaker 2: lung cancer by going to the website for the Lung
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  Speaker 2: Cancer Foundation of America.
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  Speaker 1: That's lcfamerica.org. And we'll make sure to link that up
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  Speaker 1: as well. Thanks to the two of you again for
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  Speaker 1: stopping by. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to our
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  Speaker 1: next chat together.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. And we thank your audience for tuning in
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  Speaker 1: to another great segment of Conversations Live. Again, part of
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  Speaker 1: a news segment here at WYED. Until next time, I'm
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  Speaker 1: your host, Cyrus Webster. And as always, enjoy your day,
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  Speaker 1: enjoy your life, enjoy your world. Thank you for being
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  Speaker 1: with us here at Conversations Live. And it's going to
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  Speaker 1: make today amazing. Take care.