How to Overcome Neuroendocrine Cancer
When Lori Rothman, a New York native now living in Delray Beach, couldn’t cure a really bad cough, she knew something was wrong.
“You would’ve thought that I just smoked a pack of cigarettes maybe in a second,” Rothman says.
The 66-year-old retired event planner was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer of the lung. She went to see Aman Chauhan, M.D., a medical oncologist who specializes in these rare tumors at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System.
“These types of cancers can happen anywhere in the body, from pancreas to your colon, to your mid-gut and bowels to lung. A majority of patients are unfortunately diagnosed incidentally when they’ve gotten a scan or a colonoscopy or endoscopy for other reasons,” Dr. Chauhan says.
Because this is a rare form of cancer, Dr. Chauhan says early diagnosis is critical for giving patients the best possible outcomes and quality of life.
Says Dr. Chauhan: “I’m proud to say that we have some of the most cutting-edge protocols; in fact, highest number of neuroendocrine cancer protocols anywhere in the world. We had an opportunity to take care of Lori. We added a medication. It targets certain pathways in neuroendocrine cancers, which slows the tumor growth.”
“After six, seven weeks, I could tell you that my cough was so much better,” Rothman says.
The Neuroendocrine Tumor Program at Sylvester offers a multidisciplinary approach to patient care.
“As long as you have a neuroendocrine cancer, it does not matter whether it’s a lung, it’s a head and neck, gynecological, gastrointestinal or genitourinary (cancer). We are not a fragmented program. It’s a one-stop shop for all neuroendocrine cancers. And because we see … different diseases or different types or shades of neuroendocrine cancer, we are in a unique position to open clinical trials for all of these,” Dr. Chauhan says.
Rothman is thankful to spend time with her four grandchildren this holiday season. She credits Dr. Chauhan and the Sylvester team.
“I cannot thank them enough. I’m never going to be sad. I just want to embrace life,” Rothman says.
Video transcript compiled by Janna Ross for ‘Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine,’ a series of health care-related stories airing regularly on WPLG Local 10. For more stories like this one, visit UHealth’s YouTube channel.
Tags: Dr. Aman Chauhan, focusing on you, medical oncology, NETs, neuroendocrine cancer, Neuroendocrine Tumor Program
