“We are here thanks to research”

Patients with lung cancer and scientific and healthcare professionals gathered yesterday at Cima Universidad de Navarra for an event organized in collaboration with the Spanish Association Against Cancer in Navarra. The event, held as part of International Lung Cancer Day, served as a meeting place to answer questions and bring research closer to patients and their families.

Ignacio García (“Natxo, as everyone calls me”) began the dialogue with a powerful statement: “I am here because of research.” During his optimistic speech, the 52-year-old from Puentes recalled the moment of his diagnosis. "In September 2019, I was admitted to hospital for surgery for an inguinal hernia and, as a bonus, I was diagnosed with stage 3A lung cancer. The healing process took five years and along the way there was metastasis to the pancreas and liver. And here I am. And I am here thanks to research. Now I suffer some side effects from the treatments I have received, but if it weren't for you (addressing the researchers present in the room), I wouldn't be here."

Bolivian dentist Paola Arispe and Nieves Basterra, a nurse from Pamplona, agreed on the essential role that research has played in enabling patients to benefit from such innovative treatments as targeted therapies. As Dr. Karmele Valencia, principal investigator of the Lung Cancer Therapeutic Innovation Group at Cima, explained, "Immunotherapy has contributed significantly to improving patient outcomes. However, thanks to the advances and efforts of many research groups around the world, new therapeutic strategies are already being applied that bring us closer to precision medicine. Every patient has lung cancer, and therefore we must move toward personalized treatment."

Eliminating stigma and providing support throughout the process

One of the topics addressed during the meeting held at Cima was the stigma that many patients feel due to their association with tobacco exposure. According to the participants, lung cancer continues to be a taboo in society. 

In this context, Cristina Goñi, psycho-oncologist at the Spanish Association Against Cancer in Navarra, recalled that "the association has been working with patients and their families for many years to accompany them in this process, offering them psychological care and attending to their needs as they arise. Each patient copes with the disease in a different way, but we encourage them to come to the association to see the support we can offer them."