Detecting Lung Cancer Blog

Like many men of his generation, Angela’s father did not make it a habit to visit the doctor. He did not believe in taking medication or staying home and resting if he did not feel well.  More than once, when his grandson would make statement about hurting, aching or not feeling well, he would say, “Walk it off nancy boy,” a phrase that is still referenced today by his grandson.

His dislike of medication led him to have his kneecap replaced without the benefit of anesthesia. He took no pain medication after the surgery.

Nineteen-year-old Brittany had the attitude and constitution of a champion. A gymnast, she played through a stress fracture in her lower back, a broken foot and various other injuries to win medal after medal. Her mother, Tammy, says Brittany lived up to her motto: “Don’t wait for your ship to come in. Row out to meet it.”

In 2006, Brittany was a student at East Tennessee State University. One morning in September, she woke up with flu-like symptoms. A visit to the student clinic raised little suspicion about her condition, yielding the possibility of only pneumonia. She was sent to the hospital for further testing.

What no one knew at the time was that Brittany was actually showing signs of a much more serious illness.

Jona and her husband, Rick, traveled from their home in Iowa to New York City to celebrate their 40^th wedding anniversary. Jona can still clearly remember what a wonderful time they had, walking everywhere, seeing everything they could see.

This is just one of many sustaining memories the two have. According to Jona, Rick loved his family, he loved to golf and he loved sports. The two often went to Iowa Hawkeyes bowl games, and followed the Yankees to cities like Minneapolis and Kansas City. They lead an active life, and enjoyed one another’s company.

As reported in the Pittsburg Post Gazette, lung cancer got $1,414 in research funding per death, compared with $23,754 per death for breast cancer and $11,959 per death for prostate cancer. When you consider that lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the United States for men, women and all ethnic groups, that number seems shockingly low.

For one lung cancer survivor, those statistics are very concerning.

“If it weren’t for research, my life would not have been saved,” says Radine from Illinois. “We need to keep on our legislators to keep the funding going for cancer research for early diagnosis, prevention measures and treatment.”

Lisa is someone who has grown fearless in advocating for lung cancer awareness—She even successfully lobbied the governor of her state, Alabama, to declare November 2011 as Lung Cancer Awareness Month. She has raised funds and organized walks and runs. Still, she feels as though she is not doing enough. Someday, she hopes to devote herself to the cause full-time.

Lisa is also angry. She believes there is a stigma attached to lung cancer because of its association with smoking that does not exist for other cancers. She also thinks the stigma is getting in the way of helping people survive the disease.

There are few people who enjoy visiting the doctor. There are even fewer who enjoy going to the doctor to discuss lung cancer.

However, if you have any reason to believe that you may be at risk for lung cancer, or are experiencing any of the signs for lung cancer, you should talk to your doctor as soon as possible. As intimidating as it can be, it could save your life.

To help make your doctor’s visit go smoothly, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 questions to ask your doctor about your risk for lung cancer, signs for lung cancer and EarlyCDT-Lung, the blood test to aid in early lung cancer detection.

The recent passing of Apple co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer Steve Jobs has brought another silent cancer killer, pancreatic cancer, to light.

Like lung cancer and other similar cancers, pancreatic cancer is also categorized as a silent killer. Diseases like colon cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes and heart disease are among the many other illnesses included in this category. They typically do not cause serious symptoms in their early stages. With vague symptoms that can be attributed to other things or no symptoms at all, it becomes harder to find these diseases in their earlier stages, when they are typically easier to treat.