It is one of the most common and most aggressive cancers. With with about 41 thousand new cases every year, even today lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Italy and the third most frequent neoplasm in the population. It is mainly the fault of smoking, which alone is responsible for more than eight out of ten cases. And if in most patients the prognosis remains severe, also due to the late discovery of the disease, scientific research has made important steps forward, earning a lot in terms of quantity and quality of life. With the aim of making known the diagnostic and therapeutic pathway of lung cancer, which in recent years has evolved thanks to the progress of research, the campaign «In famiglia suddenly. Let’s fight lung cancer together ». After the success of the web series, the initiative evolves into a multimedia project and is enriched with an audiobook, which narrates one of the best known and most recognized in Italy, the actor and voice actor Luca Ward, and with several podcast who tell the testimonies of patients thanks to a team of actors and voice actors who inform about the pathology.
Support patients and the whole family
“In spite of the numbers and its severity, until a few years ago little was known about lung cancer and not much was talked about in the media – he says. Annamaria Mancuso, president of Salute Donna Onlus and Salute Uomo Onlus -. The patients were alone, but in recent years things have partly changed, thanks to the research and development of innovative and targeted therapies, with an improvement in the life expectancy and quality of life of these patients. A different era has begun, characterized by a new story of this serious tumor: a story that starts from personal experience and from living with the disease that involves the whole family. Women’s Health and Men’s Health felt the need to focus attention on an oncological pathology with which it is difficult for the patient and his family to live with. “Suddenly in the family” – continues Mancuso – is characterized by the use of tools and languages capable of spreading campaign messages, such as audiobooks and podcasts, which users can listen to and share. An original method whose added value lies precisely in the ability to reach the targets that the campaign intends to reach ». Born with the aim of building and promoting a complete information path able to accompany the patient and family throughout the treatment process, promoting a new narrative that broadens the gaze to the family dimension of the disease, the campaign, in addition to the sponsorship of Salute Donna e Salute Uomo Onlus and of WALCE – Women Against Lung Cancer in Europe, is promoted by MSD Italia: on the website www.infamigliaallimprovviso .it contains information on the disease, web fiction and new audio content.
Symptoms not to be overlooked
“The audiobook project immediately involved me because as an actor I am always attracted to the possibility of telling stories and the audiobook format enhances an important professional resource: the voice – underlines Luca Ward -. But what motivated me above all was the story I had the opportunity to tell: the story of Carlo and his family, shocked by the return of an unexpected guest, lung cancer. An event that makes us understand how important it is to unite and rediscover mutual bonds to fight this disease together. The greatest challenge for me was to tell a difficult theme, always keeping myself on the border between drama and comedy in order to represent this topic in all its complexity, but at the same time convey all the possible nuances that characterize family relationships “. In the 10-part audiobook they come back the aspiring director Fernardo, the entrepreneur Carlo with his family and all the other characters of the web series «In Famiglia Suddenly», written and directed by Christian Marazziti, award-winning in national and international festivals. Living with a lung cancer diagnosis has a significant impact on the patient’s life, but it also deeply involves the whole family unit and caregivers. Diagnosis is often late, because this neoplasm is very difficult to recognize at an early stage due to the absence or non-specificity of symptoms, which can delay the moment of discovery or suggest other respiratory diseases. The signs not to be overlooked are persistent cough, hoarseness, shortness of breath, chest pains, exhaustion and loss of appetite, recurrent lung infections, traces of blood in the sputum.
The (many) therapies available
“In the last 10 years, there have been many innovations and changes in the diagnostic process and therapy of lung cancer: two of the most impacting changes, the introduction ofimmunoterapia as a treatment weapon e precision medicine as a new treatment strategy – explains Silvia Novello, professor of medical oncology at the University of Turin and head of pulmonary oncology at San Luigi Gonzaga in Orbassano -. To these have been added molecular tests, fundamental for a correct therapeutic definition, for which uniform access on the national territory is hoped for “. The oncologist, once the diagnostic process has been completed, can choose the most appropriate therapy for each case among the many available: surgery, indicated in the early stages of the disease, when the tumor is relatively small in size and has not spread remotely; radiotherapy, used to reduce the risk of a local recurrence or to treat the inoperable but metastatic disease, or to improve some symptoms; chemotherapy, immunotherapy and molecularly targeted therapies with the intent to stop or slow down the growth and spread of the tumor. “The Covid pandemic has certainly caused new complexities in the management of patients with lung cancer – concludes Novello, who is also president of WALCE -. There are so many challenges, it was very complex to continue managing a time-dependent illness in a moment of chaos, disorientation and loss of fixed points. The difficulties to be faced were many and on various fronts, but already during the first pandemic wave we were “recalibrated”, compensation maneuvers were implemented to guarantee patients adequate diagnosis and treatment».
May 27, 2021 (change May 27, 2021 | 12:29)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED