{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"160: Marcel D\u2019Allende survived Stage 4 Lung Cancer | carboplatin | pemetrexed | durvalumab | immunotherapy","description":"Marcel D'Allende was in outstanding health, an avid hiker in the mountains overlooking her hometown of Cape Town, South Africa.  However, in October 2021, she began to experience shortness of breath and extreme fatigue.  That led to a diagnosis of Stage IV non-small cell adenocarcinoma, or lung cancer.  Determined not to let cancer define her, she underwent a treatment regimen of radiotherapy, then chemotherapy with carboplatin and pemetrexed, and immunotherapy with durvalumab.  In September 2022, a PET scan revealed Marcel was cancer-free.  It took a little while for her to get back up to speed, but has returned to an active lifestyle, and every weekend, you can find her hiking the mountains.   Marcel thought she was in terrific health, but in the fall of 2021, suddenly she found herself out of breath on a recurring basis.  Her difficulty with breathing became so acute that shortly after beginning a weekend hike with friends, she had no choice but to turn around and return to the base of the mountain.  Things worsened when she had frequent coughing spells.   She was seen by her general practitioner, who recommended she see a pulmonologist.  The pulmonologist called for a CT scan, which revealed a tumor on a lung, and a diagnosis of Stage IV lung cancer in January 2022.    Marcel, who during her adult life smoked cigarettes off and on, immediately thought of her father, who passed away from lung cancer in 2000.  She was afraid she would suffer the same fate.  However, her doctor said that her father\u2019s fate didn\u2019t have to be hers because of major advances in medicines and technologies in the past twenty years.    She was determined to not let her life be defined by cancer, saying at all times, one on a cancer journey must have hope.  At the same time, she says one can be hopeful without being delusional.    Her diagnosis was difficult enough, but she soon felt the sting of the stigma that often accompanies a lung cancer diagnosis.  When informing friends about her diagnosis, many of them told her should not have smoked. Marcel\u2019s treatment begins with six weeks of radiotherapy treatment, which she thought wasn\u2019t so difficult.   Next was six cycles of chemotherapy, specifically carboplatin and pemetrexed.  The worst side effects she experienced were nausea and fatigue.   Then, Marcel\u2019s oncologist introduced her to a newly-approved form of immunotherapy called durvalumab.  It is usually prescribed for a duration of twelve months, but she was taken off the immunotherapy at the nine-month mark because spots were detected on her lung.  The spots cleared in March.   In September, Marcel D\u2019Allende underwent a PET scan that showed she was cancer-free, which she has been to this day.   She had to start slowly, but Marcel\u2019s health is back to normal, and she has returned to her weekend home, hiking trails outside Cape Town.   Additional Resources:   Support Group:   Cancer Association of South Africa  https:\/\/www.cansa.org.za   Marcel\u2019s Written Account of her Cancer Journey:   https:\/\/cansa.org.za\/breaking-the-silence-around-lung-cancer\/     ","author_name":"Cancer Interviews","author_url":"http:\/\/cancerinterviews.com","html":"