Chemotherapy accumulates in the body, and understanding its effects can shape the treatment journey for cancer patients.

In this episode, Rachel and her new guests dive into the side effects of lung cancer treatments, focusing specifically on chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). They emphasise that the first chemotherapy experience can often indicate how future treatments will go.

Listeners hear firsthand accounts from guests Sarah, Maria, and Natasha, who share their personal stories about battling lung cancer and managing side effects.

This conversation aims to provide insights and reassurance for those currently undergoing treatment or about to start, highlighting the importance of communication with healthcare teams about any side effects experienced.

N.B. AstraZeneca has provided a grant towards this independent project and has had no involvement in its creation or organisation.

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Leslie Harrison and Doug Read are people living with mesothelioma whose experience of treatment was marked by severe immunotherapy side effects, from hepatitis and inflammatory arthritis to rash, weight loss, weakness and sudden loss of independence.

In this episode of Breathe Strong, they speak with Rachel Thomas about how quickly treatment complications escalated, the fear of being taken off therapy, the reality of recovery, and the importance of reporting side effects early and asking for specialist help.

Leslie and Doug leave you with a clear sense that survival is not just about treatment itself, but about persistence, support, adapting to a changed body, and learning to keep going even when life no longer feels familiar.

N.B. AstraZeneca has provided a grant towards this independent project and has had no involvement in its creation or organisation.

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Professor Sanjay Popat is a medical oncologist and thoracic oncology professor whose life was shaped by a career spent advancing lung cancer and mesothelioma treatment through research, clinical trials, and patient-centred care.

In this episode of Breathe Strong, Professor Popat answers patient-led questions on early-stage and stage four EGFR lung cancer, treatment decisions around Osimertinib, trials, vaccines, menopause and HRT, mesothelioma immunotherapy, genetic testing, and the promising therapies now emerging on the horizon.

Sanjay leaves listeners with a sense that while these diseases remain complex and difficult, real progress is happening through science, better understanding, and the willingness of patients and clinicians to keep pushing treatment forward together.