Life After Lung Cancer Treatment
- Kathy Griffin revealed her stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis via social media in Aug. 2021. For treatment, she underwent a left lung resection for her lung cancer treatment. Lung resection is an operation to remove part or all of a damaged or diseased lung. Sadly, her vocal cords were damaged in the process.
- According to an article published in the National Library of Medicine that studied vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) after left lung resection for cancer, researchers concluded that “VCD is a frequent event that can lead to dramatic pulmonary complications.”
- Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer and it can develop in both smokers and non-smokers, but people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don't smoke.
- Still, he CDC reports that about 10 to 20 percent of lung cancers in the United States, or 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year, happen in people who've never smoked like Kathy Griffin.
In her most recent Instagram post, the comedian shared a video explaining why she was “feeling sorry for [herself].”
Read More“I’m feeling sorry for myself and I’ll tell you why,” she said. “Because I’m on my way to the hospital again, because I have to go into general to get another procedure on my vocal cords.View this post on Instagram
“So, the good news is I get to come home today. But last time I got this done, it hurt for like seven days. But I’m just being a baby. But I want to get my voice back, you know, I’ll do anything.”
Griffin underwent a left lung resection for her lung cancer treatment. Lung resection is an operation to remove part or all of a damaged or diseased lung. According to an article published in the National Library of Medicine that studied vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) after left lung resection for cancer, researchers concluded that “VCD is a frequent event that can lead to dramatic pulmonary complications.”
But despite all she’s gone through, Griffin always still manages to have a laugh.
“Also I wanted to tell you guys, I want your pity,” she quipped. “Right, you know in movies, when they’re like, “I don’t want your pity, don’t feel sorry for me!
“Hell yeah, I’ll take it, I’ll take your pity. I’ll take your feelings of sorry… I love it. Bring it.”
Kathy Griffin's Lung Cancer Journey
Kathy Griffin revealed her stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis via social media in Aug. 2021. Thankfully, the cancer seemed to be contained to one part of her lung, so she underwent surgery to have half of her left lung removed shortly after sharing the news.
She then revealed she was cancer-free in December 2021, but she still had a lot of recovering to do. After the surgery, her voice was altered by an intubation tube giving her a "Minnie Mouse meets Marilyn Monroe" type of voice.
View this post on Instagram
She later revealed that her 6-month check up scans were clear in February, and surprised fans with a video showcasing the return of her voice in June though we know her voice has, sadly, still has a ways to go.
Though she's doing better today, she did lose confidence in the doctor who performed her surgery. In another social media post, she called him a "hack Dr."
"He ruined my vocal chords & my arytenoids permanently!" she previously wrote. "My voice is my living. It's discouraging 2 me that people are sticking up 4 a surgeon who has caused me so many difficulties. I had stage 1. I sure wish I had gotten chemo/radiation instead of surgery with this hack Dr."
Thankfully, she’s since been seen by a doctor who made her feel heard.
View this post on Instagram
And in an update from October, she said she “may have kind of maxed out about how much my vocal apparatus can recover from the damage that was done during the lung cancer surgery.” She then shared some of her options, but it’s unclear exactly which option she chose based on her latest update.
Understanding Lung Cancer
Lung cancer, the second most common type of cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in the United States. Diagnosis and treatment of the disease can be tricky since symptoms often don't appear until the cancer has spread.
An initial symptom, for example, could be as serious as a seizure if the lung cancer has already spread to the brain. But other symptoms can include increased coughing, chest pain, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, wheezing, losing your voice or persistent infections like bronchitis or pneumonia.
The two main types of lung cancer are non-small cell, which makes up 85 percent of cases, and small-cell. These types act differently and, accordingly, require different types of treatment.
Dr. Patrick Forde, a thoracic oncologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, tells SurvivorNet about how distinguishing between the two types and their subtypes can be very beneficial.
What Happens When You've Been Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
"Within that non-small cell category, there's a subtype called non-squamous adenocarcinoma, and that's the group of patients for whom genetic testing is very important on the tumor," he explains. "Genetic testing is looking for mutations in the DNA, in the tumor, which are not present in your normal DNA."
Lung Cancer for Non-Smokers like Kathy Griffin
Declining smoking rates have lead to an improved outlook for lung cancer since cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for the disease. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention states that cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don't smoke.
It's important to remember, however, that even people who've never smoked before like Kathy Griffin can still get lung cancer. The CDC reports that, in the United States, about 10 to 20 percent of lung cancers, or 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year, happen in people who've never smoked.
"Some lung cancers are from unknown exposure to air pollution, radon, or asbestos," Dr. Raja Flores told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "We also see more never-smokers with lung cancer who have a family history of it."
Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer. It's responsible for anywhere from 3 to 16 percent of cancer cases depending on the levels present in a given area, according to the World Health Organization, but smokers are still 25 times more at risk from radon than non-smokers.
Another possibility for the cause of lung cancer in a non-smoker can be second-hand smoke. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 7,000 adults die of lung cancer annually from breathing secondhand smoke.
Air pollution, family history, HIV or AIDs can also all impact the chances of a non-smoker getting lung cancer. No matter what, it's important to not rule out the disease just because you don't smoke a fact that Donna Hunting knows all too well.
If You Have Lungs, You Can Get Lung Cancer Survivor Donna Hunting Shares Her Story
Just like Saundra Moore, Hunting was a non-smoker when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. But the active 54-year-old's cancer had progressed further given that she had stage four non-small cell lung cancer.
"That day was shattering to my family and to me," she previously told SurvivorNet. "It's not a smokers' disease. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer."
Fortunately for Hunting, testing revealed that her tumors had a mutation in a specific gene called EGFR. This meant that doctors were able to give her a pill to block those mutations and effectively rid her body of the disease.
"After 50 days, miraculously, my PET scan showed no evidence of disease," she said.
Hunting took the drug for over a year, until it stopped working as well. Now she's on a different daily medication, but thanks to advancements in treatment she's able to live with the disease.
"Cancer is a part of my life now, but it isn't my whole life. I'm not letting cancer define me," Hunting said.
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