Dr. Ross Camidge:
"A Cancer Diagnosis Does Not Mean the End of Life"
A world-renowned authority on lung cancer treatment has belatedly confessed that he himself is a terminal lung cancer patient. He revealed this in order to change perceptions about lung cancer and to give hope to patients.
According to reports from CBS News and other sources in the United States on September 30, Dr. Ross Kamiji (58), who leads the Lung Cancer Research Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Cancer Center, announced earlier this month, "I was diagnosed with lung cancer three years ago and have been battling the disease ever since."
Dr. Ross Kamiji (58), a world-renowned authority on lung cancer, is showing his own lung X-ray image. Photo by CBS
For over 20 years, Dr. Kamiji has developed targeted therapies and studied the progression of cancer, treating thousands of patients worldwide. Based on his research, he has helped treat thousands of lung cancer patients in 40 states across the United States and in 40 countries around the world. Even after his own diagnosis, Dr. Kamiji has continued to see patients who have maintained healthy lives for decades, earning recognition as a pioneer in lung cancer treatment research.
In 2022, Dr. Kamiji was diagnosed with stage 4 advanced lung cancer while undergoing tests for wheezing and shoulder pain. Upon seeing his own chest X-ray, he immediately recognized the signs of lung cancer.
He recalled, "After taking the chest X-ray, I walked to my office in the same building. I pulled up the X-ray image on my computer and thought, 'Oh my, this is lung cancer.'" The next day, a CT scan revealed deposits in both lungs and bones, and after various tests, he was diagnosed with stage 4 advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Currently, Dr. Kamiji's own case is included among the cases he is researching. He remembered, "At first, I thought I had just injured myself at the gym, but within just four days, I learned that I had stage 4, incurable lung cancer."
Dr. Ross Kamiji, who has been researching lung cancer for over 20 years, confessed that he has been fighting lung cancer for three years. Photo by CBS
After being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he underwent 12 weeks of daily targeted chemotherapy, followed by radiation therapy. The following year, he continued taking medication daily and received various treatments, including brain scans and blood tests every 90 days.
Dr. Kamiji kept his lung cancer diagnosis a secret for three years, sharing it only with his family and a few colleagues. However, based on his years of research, he decided to reveal his symptoms to the public to demonstrate that many cancer cases can be managed like chronic diseases.
He emphasized, "A cancer diagnosis does not mean the end of life," and added, "Some cancers can be managed like chronic illnesses." Regarding his feelings about being diagnosed with the very disease he has studied all his life, he said, "I'm not angry. In fact, I feel honored. I have gained the privilege of standing in the shoes of countless patients." He also stressed, "It is better to get rid of the idea that your value ends with a cancer diagnosis. Cancer and 'value' are not mutually exclusive terms."
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