The Caregiver’s Compass: Guiding Your Loved One Through Advanced NSCLC

Sponsored by Regeneron

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Medication Guide.

Are you helping a loved one navigate an advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosis? If so, you may be wondering how you can provide the best support.

NSCLC is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the U.S. and the world.^1,2 Advanced NSCLC refers to cancer diagnosed at later stages, when the cancer has spread beyond the lungs to other parts of the body.³

Hearing that a loved one has been diagnosed with advanced NSCLC can be overwhelming.

As you walk this path beside your loved one, understanding the role of a caregiver and knowing where you can find resources to provide support at every step is key. Throughout this article you’ll find educational resources to use as a guide during the cancer journey.

Links to patient advocacy organizations in this article are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute endorsement of Regeneron or its products.

What Can You Do If Your Loved One is Diagnosed with Advanced NSCLC?

When caring for someone with advanced NSCLC, you are not alone in your experience, and there are practical approaches and next steps you can take to support the path ahead.

If someone you care about has recently been diagnosed, here are some first steps you can take:

• Educate Yourself: Learn about advanced NSCLC and its stages to better understand what your loved one is facing. Understanding the disease helps you anticipate challenges and communicate effectively with your loved ones and their medical team.⁴
• Be Present: Your presence and willingness to listen can offer immense comfort. A cancer diagnosis brings a whirlwind of emotions. Simply being there, offering a listening ear and validating their feelings can provide emotional relief.⁴
• Help Organize Information: Medical appointments generate a lot of information. Consider a dedicated binder or digital folder for all medical documents and a calendar to ensure important details are accessible.^4,5

Resources: Get Educational Materials | LUNGevity Foundation and Checklists | LUNGevity Foundation

How Can You Support Your Loved One in Navigating Conversations with a Doctor?

Preparing for a doctor’s appointment can help you get the answers you need to feel more confident in your loved one’s journey, especially with a complex diagnosis like advanced NSCLC.^6,7 As a caregiver, you can come to these appointments prepared through the following steps^6,7:

• Encourage questions: Help your loved one write down questions to ensure their most pressing issues are discussed.^6,8
• Take Notes: During appointments, take notes on what the doctor says.⁷ Taking notes on the conversation can help for reviewing later.⁷ This allows your loved one to focus on listening without the pressure of remembering every detail.⁷

Resources: Questions for Your Healthcare Team - GO2 for Lung Cancer and What To Ask Your Doctor | LUNGevity Foundation

What is Biomarker Testing and How Can it Help Your Loved One’s Cancer Journey?

Biomarkers are measurable characteristics that indicate biological processesor markers associated with certain types of tumors, such as PD-L1 levels or EGFR, ALK, ROS1 genes.⁹ Biomarker testing is a critical part of taking a personalized approach to advanced NSCLC treatment.⁹ It helps determine the most appropriate therapy for your loved one’s specific tumor type.⁹ If the doctor does not bring it up, ask about the potential relevance to your loved one's diagnosis.⁹

Resource: Biomarker Tests | LUNGevity Foundation

What Are Some Resources to Support Caregivers and Patients Undergoing Treatment for Advanced NSCLC?

Caring for someone with advanced NSCLC is challenging, and support is available for both caregivers and patients. As a caregiver, it is just as important to take time for self-care as it is to tend to the needs of the person with aNSCLC.¹⁴ Both of you can benefit from:

• Support Groups: Organizations like CancerCare® are often comprised of fellow patients, family members and caregivers to provide community and practical advice for others dealing with aNSCLC. They can help patients and caregivers deal with mental health support, provide lifestyle resources and guidance on managing treatment side effects.¹⁴

Resources: CancerCare: Resource Navigation and Support Groups

• Educational Resources: Patient advocacy groups like the LUNGevity Foundation and GO2 for Lung Cancer offer invaluable information on the disease, treatment and caregiving.¹⁴ 
• Community Help: Organizations of volunteers and fellow caregivers as well as faith-based organizations are available to help people going through a cancer journey every step of the way.¹⁴ Never hesitate to reach out to them, as well as family and friends.¹⁴

What Are Some Potential Treatment Options for Advanced NSCLC?

Treatment for advanced NSCLC has evolved over time, and now, more treatments are available than ever before.¹⁰ Thanks to research developments, these treatments can offer personalized options based on the person’s cancer stage, the extent to which the cancer has spread, the patient’s overall health and ability to tolerate side effects, how much the cancer has impacted their lung function or even specific traits of the cancer, like genes that contribute to tumor growth.¹⁰

It is important to discuss all potential treatment options with your loved one’s healthcare provider to determine the best approach, and understanding more about these options can help guide your discussions. Treatment options may include:

• Surgery: An operation to remove tumors. It is most commonly used in early-stage NSCLC.^10,11
• Targeted therapies: A form of systemic drug therapy aimed at certain changes that make cancer cells different (abnormal).¹⁰ These therapies work by interfering with specific “targets” that are involved in the growth, progression and spread of cancer cells.¹⁰
• Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill fast-growing cells, which may help eliminate cancer cells that other treatments have missed.¹¹ Radiation, on the other hand, uses high-energy beams to target and shrink tumors, so it can be useful for attacking larger tumors that are harder for drug treatments to reach.¹¹ These traditional treatments are typically not as specific to a particular cancer type and may often be combined with other more targeted therapies.
• Immunotherapy: Some cancer cells have a special skill that helps them hide from the immune system by producing a protein called PD-1.¹⁰ Immunotherapies help restore the immune system's ability to recognize and attack them.¹² One example of an immunotherapy is LIBTAYO (cemiplimab-rwlc), a prescription medicine for certain adults with advanced NSCLC.¹² LIBTAYO is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with a type of lung cancer called non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has not spread outside of the chest (locally advanced lung cancer) and cannot be treated with surgery or chemotherapy with radiation, or if it lung cancer has spread to other areas of the body (metastatic lung cancer), and the tumor does not have an abnormal “EGFR,” “ALK,” or “ROS1” gene.¹² LIBTAYO may be used as a first treatment in combination with chemotherapy that contains a platinum medicine, or alone if a tumor tests positive for high “PD-L1.”¹²
  IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
  What is the most important information I should know about LIBTAYO?
  LIBTAYO is a medicine that may treat certain cancers by working with your immune system. LIBTAYO can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. These problems can sometimes become severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. You can have more than one of these problems at the same time. These problems may happen anytime during treatment or even after your treatment has ended.
  Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this article and click here for the full Prescribing Information.
  
• Resource: Treatment Options for Lung Cancer | LUNGevity Foundation

Additional Resources on Treatment Option Libtayo

To learn more about how LIBTAYO can help treat advanced NSCLC, and to access information and support, visit Libtayo’s patient website at https://www.libtayo.com/nsclc.

Please see full Prescribing Information.

This site includes detailed treatment information, FAQs and resources for patients and caregivers to help navigate the advanced NSCLC treatment journey, including managing appointments and connecting to support groups or transportation or even financial assistance.¹⁵ Your loved one can also enroll in LIBTAYO Surround® directly through the website or by calling 1.877.LIBTAYO (1.877.542.8296).¹⁵

Remember, as a caregiver, you are not alone. With the right resources, support from your healthcare team, and community, you can help your loved one navigate their journey with advanced NSCLC while also taking care of your own well-being. Knowledge is power, and being informed allows you to take proactive steps toward health and empowerment.

References

1. American Cancer Society. Lung Cancer Statistics | How Common is Lung Cancer? January 12, 2023. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
2. Lung Cancer - Non-Small Cell: Statistics. Cancer.net. 2023. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
3. American Cancer Society. Lung Cancer Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Staging. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging.html
4. Talking with your Loved One About Lung Cancer. Published online 2025. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.lungevity.org/sites/default/files/file-uploads/02-speaking-about-lc-experience.pdf
5. Thomme GV. 6 tips for getting organized during cancer treatment. MD Anderson Cancer Center. August 21, 2025. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/cancer-patients-tips-for-organizing-medical-records.h00-158833590.html
6. NY10022800‑813‑HOPE. After a Lung Cancer Diagnosis: Questions to Ask Your Doctor. CancerCare. March 16, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2025. http://www.cancercare.org/publications/324-after_a_lung_cancer_diagnosis_questions_to_ask_your_doctor
7. For Caregivers: How to Support Your Loved One at Appointments | LUNGevity Foundation. LUNGevity Foundation. February 14, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.lungevity.org/blogs/for-caregivers-how-to-support-your-loved-one-at-appointments
8. How Do I Manage Lung Cancer Side Effects? American Lung Association. October 1, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-cancer/treatment/manage-side-effects
9. Šutić M, Vukić A, Baranašić J, et al. Diagnostic, Predictive, and Prognostic Biomarkers in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Management. J Pers Med. 2021;11(11):1102. doi:10.3390/jpm11111102
10. de Jong D, Das JP, Ma H, et al. Novel Targets, Novel Treatments: The Changing Landscape of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2023;15(10):2855. doi:10.3390/cancers15102855
11. Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment by Stage. American Cancer Society. June 23, 2025. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/treating-non-small-cell/by-stage.html
12. LIBTAYO (cemiplimab-rwlc) injection full U.S. prescribing information. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. LLC. https://www.regeneron.com/downloads/libtayo_fpi.pdf. Accessed on September 11, 2025.
13. Targeted Therapy. American Cancer Society. June 2, 2025. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/targeted-therapy.html
14. Self-Care Tips for Lung Cancer Caregivers. American Lung Association. September 25, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-cancer/family-and-friends/taking-care-of-yourself/self-care
15. LIBTAYO Surround. LIBTAYO® (cemiplimab-rwlc). 2025. Accessed September 11, 2025. https://www.libtayo.com/cscc/libtayo-surround