Detecting Lung Cancer Blog

Even many of the names are intimidating. Reactive chemicals that are listed as possible risk factors for lung cancer include:

• Acrylonitrile
• Bis[chloromethyl]ether
• Chloromethyl methyl ether
• 1, 3-butadiene
• Ethylene oxide
• Formaldehyde
• Mustard gas
• Sulfuric acid
• Vinyl chloride

Heavy metals are a particularly insidious kind of hazard and are a significant risk factor for lung cancer.

Tobacco smoking remains the number-one risk factor for lung cancer in both men and women. In men, tobacco smoking accounts for about 90 percent of lung cancers. In women, smoking causes about 80 percent of lung cancers. That said, environmental factors, including secondhand tobacco smoke, can cause cancer in people who have never smoked.

It was the summer of 2009, when Barbara was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer.

Barbara was 69 years old and had been dealing with a persistent case of what was initially diagnosed as bronchitis. She was a long term smoker, with over 30 pack years (# of years times # of packs/day), and like many smokers, had occasional respiratory issues. She had also undergone imaging recently which had shown a pulmonary nodule but nodules are also common in long term smokers.

One of the most highly rated charities in the United States, the Lung Cancer Alliance has dedicated itself to reversing many years of stigma and neglect. The group hopes to do this by empowering people with lung cancer or with risk factors for lung cancer, raising awareness about the disease and changing health policy.

Cindy was 48 years old when she died on September 15^th. She had battled lung cancer for only 7 months since her diagnoses in February.

The Lung Cancer Foundation of America is one of the few organizations in the nation dedicated to advocating for lung cancer research, treatment and prevention. What is unique about LCFA is that two of its founders occupy an unusual position: They are lung cancer survivors.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, lung cancer seems to be the poor stepchild when it comes to awareness, early detection and improved treatment. Although this situation seems to be slowly changing for the better, a long road lies ahead before lung cancer – the leading cause of cancer deaths in the nation – gets the attention it deserves in order to impact outcomes.

In a previous postings, we discussed the stigma that lung cancer carries.

Many people consider the disease a self-inflicted problem. To this way of thinking, individuals who contract lung cancer “have only themselves to blame,” since many people believe they probably smoked and brought it upon themselves. We’ve all heard these types of statements.

This bias persists, even in the face of facts.