Living with ALK-Positive Advanced NSCLC: Patient, Care Partner, and Care Team Perspectives

Dr. Narjust Florez introduces a multidisciplinary panel including nurse practitioner Stephanie McDonald and Megan and Matt Flanagan, a couple navigating ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

The discussion transitions to biomarker testing as an essential component of lung cancer diagnosis, with Dr. Florez emphasizing that diagnosis remains incomplete until molecular characterization is performed.

Dr. Florez introduces shared decision-making as a collaborative approach ensuring patient voices, values, and goals become integral components of treatment planning, particularly crucial for young patients facing long-term therapy with implications spanning treatment selection, side effect management, and family dynamics.

The discussion addresses practical aspects of living with ALK-positive disease, emphasizing that long-term oral therapy has transformed treatment possibilities from months to potentially decades of survival.

The discussion addresses practical aspects of living with ALK-positive disease, emphasizing that long-term oral therapy has transformed treatment possibilities from months to potentially decades of survival.

The segment explores concepts of living well with cancer, advocacy, and community building for young patients facing long-term therapy. Dr. Florez notes that current reality for many young patients with ALK-positive disease involves years rather than months of survival, fundamentally changing perspectives on living with versus dying from cancer.

The discussion concludes with examination of recent research developments, particularly the CROWN trial's 7-year follow-up data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. Dr. Florez explains that this trial has changed ALK-positive treatment paradigms by demonstrating unprecedented durability of response with lorlatinib compared to previous standard crizotinib therapy.