Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
What is it?

Non-small cell lung cancer is a type of lung cancer. About 85% of people who get lung cancer will get non-small cell rather than small cell. One of the biggest problems with lung cancer in general is that it is very hard to detect early because the people who have it often show no symptoms. My grandfather for instance was very recently diagnosed with NSCLC, more specifically with the sub category of adenocarcinoma, and the way he found out he had a tumor in his lung was from going to the doctor because of shoulder pain.
There are a few treatment options for NSCLC these include: surgery to remove the tumor, radiation,and chemotherapy. For my grandpa surgery seemed like a really good option because his cancer hadn't spread, it was just the one tumor in his lung, and the surgeon said they could remove the whole lung and he would be fine. The only catch is that he would have to stop smoking for 3 months before they did it, and he would have to never smoke again for the one lung to be healthy enough to support him alone. This wasn't going to happen. He promised to cut back a lot, but he has never believed that he could fully quit. So we went on to option number two which was intense targeted radiation and chemo at the same time. This sucked all the energy he had right out of him, luckily there was another option: Crizotinib.
There are a few treatment options for NSCLC these include: surgery to remove the tumor, radiation,and chemotherapy. For my grandpa surgery seemed like a really good option because his cancer hadn't spread, it was just the one tumor in his lung, and the surgeon said they could remove the whole lung and he would be fine. The only catch is that he would have to stop smoking for 3 months before they did it, and he would have to never smoke again for the one lung to be healthy enough to support him alone. This wasn't going to happen. He promised to cut back a lot, but he has never believed that he could fully quit. So we went on to option number two which was intense targeted radiation and chemo at the same time. This sucked all the energy he had right out of him, luckily there was another option: Crizotinib.
The Hard Truth
Crizotinib is not a cure, and neither is chemotherapy. These are not cures because there isn't one. Crizotinib has shown through a couple of studies to increase survival rates by about 45 weeks. However, it hasn't yet shown us any actual increase in rates of complete survival, this could be from lack of data as well though. It is very difficult to compare overall survival rates right now because all the people who were doing chemotherapy are now taking Crizotinib. No one seems willing to give up this chance, and they shouldn't. On the other hand even when an individual does beat this cancer, it almost always returns. Maybe soon we will be able to say otherwise. For now though progression-free survival seems like a very real possibility for people who take this drug.