You Don’t Look Like You Have Cancer

This episode of Hope With Answers: Living with Lung Cancer Podcast tackles the common misperception that all cancer patients fit the stereotype of being older, frail, chain-smokers. 60% of people living with lung cancer are never-smokers – who work hard to convince others, including their primary care physician, that despite their rather “normal”, vibrant appearance, they face a devastating disease.

Host Diane Mulligan opens the episode by asking “What does someone living with lung cancer look like?” She and co-host Jordan Sherman go on to make the point that in reality, anyone with lungs can develop lung cancer, including young people and never-smokers.

Guests

Dr. David Carbone, The Ohio State University

Aurora Lucas, a Lung Cancer survivor, was diagnosed with Stage 2A Lung Cancer at age 28.

Transcript | Show Notes | Watch Video

Doctors Need to Consider Lung Cancer Despite Patient's Age

They first interview Dr. David Carbone, an oncologist at The Ohio State University, about the stigma around what a typical lung cancer patient looks like. Dr. Carbone stresses that “if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer” and that doctors need to consider lung cancer as a potential diagnosis even in young, healthy never-smokers who present with respiratory symptoms.

Later in the episode, LCFA Speakers Bureau member Aurora Lucas shares her story of being diagnosed with lung cancer in her late twenties. She talks about the difficulty she initially had getting doctors to take her respiratory symptoms seriously:

“The first thing after I told the doctor my concerns about coughing, he said, ‘Everything is okay. Go boil some water and add some honey to it.” And I think I left that office like, what? I just didn’t feel heard.”

Fighting An Outdated Lung Cancer Stereotype

After months of delays, Lucas was finally diagnosed with lung cancer. She now works to educate people that her experience is what lung cancer can look like today - not just the outdated stereotype.

As Mulligan summarizes, appearance can be misleading when it comes to lung cancer. Modern targeted therapies allow many patients to live active lives and maintain normal appearances while battling the disease. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t facing challenges like side effects, scan anxiety, and other struggles behind the scenes.

The takeaway is that anyone with lungs is at risk for lung cancer, regardless of age or smoking status. And just because patients may look well on the outside, doesn’t mean they aren’t fighting a serious diagnosis. LCFA aims to break down misperceptions around what having lung cancer means today.

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