The Research Evangelist

When I was diagnosed with lung cancer years ago, my wife (who is a nurse) told me that the first thing I needed to do was to become my own advocate – to be proactive in seeking information about my disease and my care strategy. Of course, this was before the advent of genetic testing and the era of precision medicine. But even today, too many cancer patients die or suffer through toxic treatments and expensive hospitalizations when state of the art molecular testing could have offered better options with either approved treatments or promising clinical trials. Most patients are not as proactive and self-advocating as they could be, and there is a need to raise this awareness about just how a newly diagnosed patient can become his/her own advocate. One way is to connect with other patients with a similar diagnosis, either online or in person. More and more cancer patients are attending medical conferences and connecting with other patients. In many cases, because of molecular testi...

It wasn’t that long ago that a diagnosis of stage 4 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) was death sentence. Patients often heard “I’m sorry, there’s nothing more we can do” or “it’s time to get your affairs in order.” Unfortunately, too often that communication still happens today. However, with the advent and increasing availability of molecular testing, we are able to identify biomarkers that can lead to available targeted treatments. My friend Linnea Olson is one shining example of how far we’ve come in lung cancer treatment, and gives me hope for good outcomes if patients get their tumors tested. It’s also why I am such a passionate advocate cancer research and precision medicine.                                              Linnea (on right) and Dr. Alice Sh...