Key points from today’s guests:

Ken O’Bryan, GE junction cancer survivor

• Ken noticed food not going down properly and eventually mentioned it to his doctor, who found something suspicious at his GE junction with an endoscopy.
• Further tests and a second opinion at The University of Kansas Cancer Center found it was a stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
• Ken began immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatments at the Cancer Center.
• He is glad he got a second opinion at the Cancer Center. He did his research and felt confident that it was an NCI-designated cancer center.
• He credits the staff, his family and friends for the care and support they provided him throughout his journey.

Dr. Anup Kasi, medical oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• GE junction cancer is an aggressive form of cancer.
• Because the impacted lymph nodes were located near major arteries, surgery was not an option because it was too risky.
• Chemotherapy is often used to treat esophageal cancer, but the specific regimen and difficulty can vary depending on the individual.
• Immunotherapy was offered to Ken based on biomarkers found in his tumor. Ken was in one of the clinical trials with a targeted treatment along with immunotherapy, so that that helps provide these novel treatment options that could potentially have a benefit for our cancer patients.
• Dysfunction with the GE junction can lead to reflux disease and esophageal cancer.
• No question is a dumb question. Patients need to ask their doctors about all the questions they have so they can get the right answers.

Wednesday, May 1 at 8 a.m. is the next Open Mics with Dr. Stites. COVID is a concern but not a crisis anymore. As we wind down our COVID count, we reflect on four years of helping the public understand what the pandemic really means. Our special guest is Dr. Gregory Poland, a vaccine expert and director of the vaccine research group at Mayo Clinic

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