Amgen Oncology has unveiled an eight-video series that chronicles patients’ personal experiences with cancer, from small cell lung to colorectal cancer.
The pharma company launched the series, Patient Points of View,” at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting this week. The videos are meant to highlight the meeting’s theme, “Partnering with Patients: The Cornerstone of Cancer Care and Research.”
The introductory video notes “cancer is personal” and that “listening to patients helps motivate” Amgen as it targets hard-to-treat cancers. The video features a collage of the patients interviewed in the series, commenting on their experiences and how scientific innovation has given them hope.
“We’re not just scientists in the lab; we’re also patients, we’re also families of patients,” Marissa Mock, an Amgen researcher, says in the video. “Everyone here comes to work and has chosen this work because we’re motivated by what we can do for patients.”
The following seven videos in the series chronicle the experiences of patients – Gina, Lindy, Charles, and others – as they battle with various forms of cancer, including small cell lung cancer and gastric cancer.
“These stories highlight the uniqueness of each patient’s experience with cancer – from the emotions once diagnosed, to the physical impact that disrupts everyday activities,” Amgen stated in a press release.
In Charles’ story, he describes his small cell lung cancer diagnosis, how he worked through his initial shock and ultimately decided to fight the disease with treatment.
“I just went into shock sitting there thinking, ‘This is it, it’s over,’” Charles says. “Then I… realized I needed to give [treatment] a chance because I was not ready to go and didn’t want to go.”
Amgen rolled out the series in conjunction with the unveiling of data from its CodeBreaK clinical trial program at ASCO. That study found that Amgen’s drug Lumakras was effective in treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic colorectal cancer.
“As the leader in KRAS inhibition, Amgen continues to advance the CodeBreaK program by evaluating Lumakras across different indications and combinations to potentially help more people living with KRAS G12C-mutated cancers,” David Reese, EVP of research and development at Amgen, said in a statement.
