Tammy Faye's Cancer Battle
- The upcoming movie The Eyes of Tammy Faye, starring Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain, spotlights the life of eccentric televangelist Tammy Faye Messner (formerly Tammy Faye Baker). She battled both colon and lung cancer for 11 years.
- She first was diagnosed with colon cancer in March 1996, but after going through treatment she achieved remission. Nearly a decade later she was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer, which she battled on and off for three years.
- Quitting smoking can significantly decrease your likelihood of getting lung cancer, but it’s important to remember that non-smokers can also be diagnosed.
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While going through hospice for one year, Messner revealed in 2007 that she would stop chemotherapy treatments, but asked for support from her fans. She passed away in her home on July 20, 2007.
Colon Cancer & Chemotherapy
When facing colon cancer, there are a few different treatment options. Chemotherapy is a common first-line treatment. One of the most common chemotherapy regimens for colon cancer is 5-FU based chemotherapy. Patients will most often receive FOLFOX, in which 5-FU is combined with oxaliplatin. There are both intravenous and oral versions of 5-FU, and the oral version is known as capecitabine (Xeloda). In certain cases, additional medications will be added.
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Overall, chemotherapy for colon cancer is well-tolerated. Many patients are able to continue working while only having to take time off around when they receive their treatments. The most common side effects of chemotherapy are related to the GI tract including diarrhea; patients may also experience fatigue, mouth sores, bleeding, and a decrease in white blood cell (WBC) count leading to an increased risk of infection.
Lung Cancer: Know the Risks
Lung cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease affecting the United States. When it comes to preventing a possible cancer diagnosis, knowledge is power. That’s why it’s extremely important to know about risks and causes that may increase your likelihood of being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Smoking may be the first cause that comes to mind with lung cancer. And it is true that smoking causes most cases of this cancer. Tobacco smoke contains a mixture of more than 7,000 different chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer. If you quit smoking, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease and dying from it.
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Yet almost 20% of people who die from lung cancer in the United States each year have never smoked or used any other form of tobacco. We say that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer regardless of if you have smoked or not. Some lung cancer risks are harder to avoid. For example, you may be at a higher risk of developing this cancer if you are constantly exposed to air pollution, or if you have a family history of lung cancer. If you have any of these risk factors, it's important to discuss them with your doctor, so you can stay on top of screening tests.
Dr. Ronald Natale explains the difference of lung cancer in smokers vs. non-smokers
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