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Sister Channels Grief Over Brother's Death into Lung-Cancer Fight

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 03:01 CDT

Lung cancer is the leading killer among cancers, but it's the fight against other cancers, such as breast and prostate, that often gets the headlines.

But lung cancer claimed center stage last week with the death of ABC anchorman Peter Jennings and the news that Dana Reeve, widow of actor Christopher Reeve, is battling the disease.

At 44 and a nonsmoker, Reeve isn't a typical lung-cancer patient.

Neither was Robert Stubenvoll, a Colorado Springs man who died of lung cancer Feb. 2 at age 33.

His diagnosis came as a shock, said his sister, Sonja.

"I was like, he doesn't even smoke. He never smoked," said Sonja, who is organizing a race/walk to raise money for lungcancer research.

Smoking remains the No. 1 cause of lung cancer; it's directly responsible for 90 percent of all lung-cancer deaths, according to the American Lung Association. But the number of nonsmoker patients - - women more than men -- is increasing, said Dr. James Young, an oncologist at Penrose Cancer Center.

"No one knows why that is," he said.

Robert Stubenvoll, a commercial plumber, went to the doctor with what he thought was the flu, his sister said. Doctors treated him for pneumonia. When he continued to have problems, further tests revealed lung cancer.

The cancer was advanced and had reached his bones. Too weak for traditional chemotherapy, Stubenvoll was put on an experimental drug but didn't respond. He was diagnosed just after Christmas. He died six weeks later.

Stubenvoll's age and nonsmoking status made him unusual, but the speed at which the cancer claimed his life was not.

Jennings died four months after he appeared on the air to reveal his condition. Viewers may have been jolted by his death, but Young was not surprised.

"Unfortunately, all too often that's the course of this particular disease. Many times it is relatively advanced at the time of diagnosis."

There is no common screening tool for lung cancer, and often the cancer is too advanced to effectively treat by the time symptoms appear, Young said. There are some indications sophisticated CT scans may be an effective screening tool, but that hasn't been proved and Young said it would be difficult to adopt the technology for widespread use.

Little progress has been made in the past 30 years or so in treating lung cancer. About 85 percent of lung-cancer patients die within five years of diagnosis. There have been some advances, such as last year's approval of Tarceva, a drug designed to slow or stop the growth of cancer. But, Young said, "they're kind of baby steps. We haven't made any measurable impact on the mortality rate or survival of this disease."

The LUNGevity Foundation, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to lung-cancer research, says research dollars are lagging. In 2004, it reported, approximately $1,723 was spent on research per lungcer death, compared with $13,953 per breast-cancer death and $10,318 per prostatecancer death.

Sonja Stubenvoll wonders if that might partly be a result of viewing lung cancer as "the old smoker man's disease," if there's a view that smokers somehow deserve it.

Whether a smoker or nonsmoker, "it's horrible regardless," she said.

As a way of channeling her grief into something productive, she is planning Robert's Race, a 5K run/walk to raise money for the LUNGevity Foundation.

The race will be 9 a.m. Sept. 17 at Monument Valley Park. The entry fee is $22. To register, go to www.active.com/ event_detail.cfm?event_id=1240491.

ABOUT LUNG CANCER

Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in men and women. There will be about 172,500 new cases of lung cancer this year in the United States; an estimated 163,510 people will die of the disease in 2005. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined.

Nearly 60 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer die within one year of their diagnosis. Nearly 75 percent die within two years.

Smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer. Other causes include radon gas and on-the-job exposure to cancer-causing materials such as asbestos.

The average age of people with lung cancer is 70. Less than 3 percent of all cases are in people younger than 45.

Symptoms usually don't occur until the disease is in an advanced stage. There is no routine screening tool. Symptoms include chronic cough, hoarseness, coughing up blood, fever and repeated bouts of bronchitis or pneumonia.

- Treatments include chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

SOURCES: American Cancer Society, American Lung Association

CLINICAL TRIALS

There are two major types of lung cancer: non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most common, and small-cell lung cancer. The Cancer Center of Colorado Springs is accepting patients for two clinical trials on treatment of non-small cell lung cancer: one for patients who are elderly or whose daily activities are greatly restricted by their cancer, and one for patients with lung cancer that is inoperable or has spread beyond the lungs. For details, call 471-0080.

To find other local trials concerning lung cancer or other cancers, go to the National Cancer Institute's Web site at www.nci.nih.gov and click on Clinical Trials or go to Center-Watch, a clinical-trials listing service, at www.centerwatch.com.

NOTABLES

Some of the notable people who've died of lung cancer over the years:

Aug. 8: Barbara Bel Geddes, actress who played Ellie Ewing in the longrunning TV series "Dallas," 82

Aug. 7: ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, 67

July 1: Renaldo "Obie" Benson, 69, member of the legendary Four Tops

May 9, 2004: Comedian Alan King, 76

Sept. 8, 2003: Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, 56

Oct. 13, 2002: Best-selling author/historian Stephen Ambrose, 66 June 29,

2002: Singer Rosemary Clooney, 74

Oct. 16, 2001: Jazz singer Etta Jones, 72 (and breast cancer)

June 18, 2000: Actress Nancy Marchand, 71, who played the matriarch on "The Sopranos" and the patrician publisher Mrs. Pynchon on "Lou Grant"

March 25, 1999: Baseball coach Cal Ripken Sr., 63

March 8, 1999: Baseball great Joe DiMaggio, 84

Feb. 6, 1998: Beach Boy guitarist Carl Wilson, 51

July 1, 1997: Actor Robert Mitchum, 79

Feb. 3, 1996: Audrey Meadows, 70, famous for her role as Alice Kramden in the TV comedy "The Honeymooners"

March 6, 1994: Actress Melina Mercouri, 68, best known for her role as a prostitute in the 1960 film "Never on Sunday"

Oct. 25, 1993: Actor Vincent Price, 82, known for horror-movie roles

June 22, 1993: Pat Nixon, 81

Feb. 2, 1992: Bert Parks, 77, best known as master of ceremonies for the Miss America beauty pageant

June 10, 1988: Popular western writer Louis L'Amour, 80

March 21, 1987: Actor Robert Preston, 68, best known for his role as Professor Harold Hill in the stage and film versions of "The Music Man"

Dec. 2, 1986: Desi Arnaz, 69, best remembered for starring with Lucille Ball in "I Love Lucy"

Oct. 25, 1986: Actor Forrest Tucker, 67, best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke in the popular "F Troop" TV series of the 1960s

Oct. 10, 1985: Yul Brynner, 65, best known for his portrayal of the king in "The King and I"

May 16, 1984: Comedian/actor Andy Kaufman, 35

March 31, 1980: Jesse Owens, 66, Olympic gold medal winner in track

May 24, 1974: Jazz great/band leader Duke Ellington, 75

Feb. 1, 1966: Comedian/actor/director Buster Keaton, 70

April 25, 1965: CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow, 57 (Always a heavy smoker, Murrow had investigated the connection between cigarettes and cancer for his show "See It Now.")

Feb. 15, 1965: Singer Nat King Cole, 47

SOURCES: Contemporary Newsmakers, Almanac of Famous People, Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television Dictionary of American Biography, The Associated Press

Source: Gazette, The; Colorado Springs, Colo.

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