Journal of Cancer Survivorship: The value of immunotherapy for survivors of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer

By Rebekah Park, James W. Shaw, Alix Korn, Jacob McAuliffe

In this ethnography-based study of patients treated with immuno-oncology for stage IV non-small cell lung cancer, ReD has uncovered how patients define and measure their quality of life on new cancer therapies. This study focused on a small, elite group of the overall cancer population: those who have responded well to IO therapy and have outlived their terminal diagnosis. One finding showed that this patient population found themselves living in a state of limbo because while they have been able to achieve a state of normalcy in their day-to-day lives, they were still living with a terminal condition. They were too healthy to qualify for benefits, but too sick to receive massage treatments—for having a terminal diagnosis but being able to live as if they had no cancer. Our researchers, along with our dedicated partners at Bristol-Myers Squibb, spent time with people living with cancer in the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Denmark. This publication in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship reports the results and implications of this research for long-term survivorship on IO treatments. 

The full text of the journal  article, published January 16 2020, can be accessed here. 

[Photo by National Cancer Institute via Unsplash]