Lung Cancer is the Silent Killer

Lung Cancer is the Silent Killer

By: Erica Shine

As Rob Sanchez sat in his hospital room he couldn’t help but feel that he had been dealt an impossible situation.  At just 47 years old he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and he knew that his life from this day forward was never going to be the same.  The next three days would prove to be very trying, as he met with several doctors who would describe his full diagnosis, what his treatment options were, and what kind of life expectancy he could gain from those treatments.  Without treatment the prognosis was very grim; only three to four weeks of survival at the most.  If he chose to endure treatment, he could have anywhere from one to two years of life left to live.  Those two options for someone with seemingly so much life left seemed like there are really no options at all. 

At the forefront of Rob’s mind in his time of need were the needs of his wife and children. “I just need more time, and I really want to be around to see my babies grow up”, he said, and he couldn’t help but ask himself what he could have done differently to prevent this situation and if there were any other warning signs he could have picked up on to enable him to catch his cancer in the earlier stages.

Lung cancer is often referred to as the silent killer because more often than not a person will not address the severity of the issue until it is too late.  The symptoms will usually start with a slight cough, which is usually not enough of a reason to make a special visit to the doctor.  As the cough becomes more persistent you might start to seek medical help, but many times doctors will not read any further into the situation and just prescribe antibiotics to assist with the symptoms of what appears to be a cold.   This is what happened in Rob’s case.  It wasn’t until he began to cough up blood that his primary doctor knew that something was very wrong and he should go to the emergency room immediately.  Rob had been a smoker in the past, but it had been seven years since he had smoked his last cigarette.  At such a young age and given the fact that he had quit smoking, he never imagined he would find himself in this situation.  While not all lung cancer is caused from smoking, it is the number one cause. 

“You must listen to what your gut is telling you and you must be your biggest advocate.”  This is the advice that Rob and his family would give to anyone who is experiencing symptoms that were similar to his. A person can never know what the outcome of a medical situation will be, but the earlier that medical care is sought, the greater the chances are that a solution can be found.