November 27, 2019 Word for Word Media
Medical oncologist, Dr Sze Wai Chan, informs us of all we need to know about how lung cancer has been treated in 2019. Lung cancer is common and isĀ the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In South Africa, it oftenĀ gets confused with the epidemic of TB. Ā  The signs and symptoms of TB are very similar to lung cancer and investigations for TB often delay the actual investigations and diagnosis of lung cancer.Ā  Common signs and symptoms Cough that doesn’t go away in aĀ few weeks. Coughing up blood Short of breath Chest pain Loss of weight Night sweats Hoarseness…

September 30, 2019 Word for Word Media
We catch up with lung cancer patient, Mahendra Modi (79), who was on our Nov/Dec cover, in 2016, and hear how well he is doing on osimertinib (Tagrisso), an oral medication. Mahendra Modi (79) lives in Mulbarton, Gauteng with hisĀ wife. He has three childrenĀ and seven grandchildren. Background Mahendra was diagnosed, in 2014, with Stage 4 lung cancer associatedĀ with an EGFR mutation. This type of lung cancer is not related to cigarette smoking but is driven by a mutation (changing of the structure of a gene), called an EGRF mutation.Ā  Due to the stage of Mahendra’sĀ cancer, surgery was not an…

December 1, 2016 Word for Word Media
One would think the less one smokes, the lower the risk would be of getting lung cancer, however, in Mahendra Modi’s case he developed lung cancer associated with an EGFR mutation, at the age of 74, despite never smoking. But not once has he feared death. He shares his remarkable story with us. Mahendra Modi (76) lives in Mulbarton, south of JHB, with his wife. He has three children and seven grandchildren. In 2014, a week after Mahendra arrived in Australia to visit his son, Dharmesh, he experienced abdominal pain and had trouble breathing. He didn’t take it too…

January 1, 2016 Word for Word Media
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, ranking number one for both sexes. Lung cancer can be broadly divided into two categories: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer. org/cancer/lungcancer), non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85- 90% of lung cancers while small cell lung cancer accounts for 10-15% of all lung cancers. NSCLC has three major subtypes: squamous cell carcinoma (25- 30%), adenocarcinoma (40%), and large cell carcinoma (10-15%). The majority of lung cancer is related to tobacco smoking, but 10-15% of lung cancers occur in lifelong never smokers1. Adenocarcinoma currently accounts for approximately 39%…