From professor to patient: One man's journey on the frontier of lung cancer treatment
Stanford professor Bryant Lin, a lung cancer researcher, shares his personal experience as a Stage IV patient while highlighting advancements in precision medicine. New genetic testing and targeted therapies are shifting the prognosis for lung cancer from a terminal diagnosis to a manageable chronic condition.
Why it matters
The shift toward personalized, mutation-specific cancer treatments represents a major breakthrough in oncology and patient quality of life.
Stanford medical professor Bryant Lin founded the school's Center for Asian Health Research and Education , advocating for better lung cancer screening in particular. Then two years ago Lin became a Stage IV patient of the very disease he long crusaded against.
Life, after diagnosis She's trying to outrun pancreatic cancer. Breakthrough treatments give her hope "Super ironic that I would be co-leading the center that supports research and education in this disease, and I get diagnosed myself," he says.
Lin, who is a non-smoker, tells students he considers himself lucky — even hopeful: "I think the future is really bright, because we're creating all of these personalized, specialized precision therapeutics for lung cancer," he says."My hope is if we're not able to cure lung cancer, we can at least turn it into a chronic disease."
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in