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Today's Story Lung Cancer Treatment Lung cancer claimed the lives of about 160-thousand people throughout the country in 1997. 60 percent of patients die within one year of detection but a new method of treatment could change that. The treatment is called photodynamic therapy and works with a drug that kills cancer cells. Photodynmaic therapy is used for esophagal cancer... but has just been approved to treat early stage lung cancer in patients not eligible for for surgery or radiotherapy. Robert Browning is one of 178-thousand americans who are diagnosed with lung cancer every year. But he is one of the lucky ones. His early stage lung cancer was beaten with a revolutionarly new treatment called photodynamic therapy which uses a light activated drug called photofrin. Robert Browning-Lung cancer treatment-"I wouldn't have made it if it hadn't have been for the photofrin and for the laser treatments. I probably wouldn't have lived until 1995." Photofrin is injected into the patient where it zeros in on cancer cells. But photofrin has no effect until it is switched on by a red light from a medical laser. Once activated, the drug destroys the cancer cells without impacting the surrounding healthy ones. Dr. stephen lam was involved in the clinical trials using photodynamic therapy to treat early-stage lung cancer patients and says the results were very positive. Dr. Lam-"In the multi-centre trail that we were involved in. Along with france, germany and the netherlands, approximately three-quarters of the patients had a complete repsonse after treatement and about half of them are cancer free on a long term follow up." But Doctor Manual Valdivieso, director of Oakwood Hospital's Cancer Center says he questions the success of this treatment since catching lung cancer early is so difficult. But Robert is living proof that the treatment can work. Manual Valdivieso-"I've had two grandchildren born since then and I'm very happy with that, that I could see these kids grow up to where they are now." Home | Upcoming Stories | Previous Stories |Survey | About Healthy Living | E-Mail
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