Campaigning for Cancer (C4C) wants lung cancer education to be continuous

Campaigning for Cancer believes it is not enough to be vocal about lung cancer only in November which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month but every month which follows.

The advocacy organisation, based in Craighall, held a media event at Bespoke by Barrow in Rosebank on November 29 to stress the messaging of early detection and symptom recognition of the disease and empower as many South Africans as possible.

The event was attended by cancer patients alongside key opinion leaders. They shared insights aimed at enlightening the public and equipping them with the knowledge necessary for making informed decisions regarding cancer-related matters.

A non-squamous cell lung cancer patient Llewelyn Perumal talked about his unexpected diagnosis.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that from a gastric scope procedure for reflux scheduled for October 2, 2021, to a hiatus surgery booked for October 6 and then a seizure a day before my surgery which led me to be hospitalised at Millpark hospital where tests were run, would lead to a diagnosis of advanced stage 4 non-small cell squamous lung cancer and a 6cm tumour on my esophagus.”

Perumal added that his medical team explored treatment options for the cancer and genetic testing was done. An immunotherapy drug called Keytruda proved to be the best option to improve his quality of life during this journey.

He added getting medical aid to approve the use of this drug came with its challenges due to its high cost, and lack of research available in SA due to this treatment being a new-age biological treatment.

“At my last CT scan, there has been a 42% reduction in the cancer. My lungs remain clear. Medical aid refused to pay for any more Keytruda with the reasoning that it did not work after progression despite clinical evidence being given.”

Stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma lung cancer patient George Parpottas also spoke about his journey after he experienced a dry cough.

“On the general practitioner’s recommendation, I was sent to the cardiologist who again, couldn’t find anything but suggested an x-ray, but I went back to the GP after the x-ray which is when they saw a ‘shadow’ on my right lung.”

He added that he was immediately sent for a CT scan and soon after had a biopsy which revealed he had cancer.

“I immediately started carboplatin chemotherapy and chemotherapy. After the third treatment, I had another CT scan, and the results were looking good according to the doctors. In total, have had 33 sessions of radiotherapy.”

According to Campaigning for Cancer:

• Lung cancer is the second most common cancer (12.4%) among males. Among females, it is the fourth most common cancer (4.7%). It was very likely that incident rates were underestimated.
• Statistics South Africa highlighted lung cancer as the major cause of cancer death in men in two provinces.

Reasons for the high rate of deaths include:

• Low rates of diagnosis
• Limited treatment access
• Lack of comprehensive data and reporting on lung cancer.
• Service delivery is mainly concentrated in the Western Cape and Gauteng. Certain provinces cannot access diagnostic, curative, rehabilitative, psycho-social, or palliative services.