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Why I'm "Here"

I did not choose to be on this Lung Cancer Patient/Advocacy Road; it chose me. Had my late mother not been diagnosed with late stage inoperable lung cancer, I can say with a fair amount of certainty, I would not be on this road. We never considered the possibility of lung cancer because we did not know the facts. Lung Cancer is Not Just for Smokers.
I became an advocate because I did not want one other family to face the shock that our family did. NO ONE IS IMMUNE from a lung cancer diagnosis. My goal is to empower people with information in order to give them a fighting chance. My goal is to reframe the issue of lung cancer in order to address the social stigma currently associated with the disease. My goal is to support increased lung cancer research to find the cure.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Screening for Lung Cancer

The ongoing screening debate made the front page of yesterday's New York Times. Prompted by a recent study in the Journal of Medicine, ACS has issued a statement on the efficacy of breast and prostate screening - information that some of us already knew -
I was aware of the I rating for PSA's for prostate cancer; the same rating that spiral CT's for lung cancer has; one major difference between ct and psa is cost; another major difference is exposure to radiation - important considerations - to me, all that says is we must work harder to find and get approved a blood test for lung cancer screening.
Today's NY Times article says the debate is complicated - the same argument I get when LCCH presents a nunanced message regarding risk factors for lung cancer. What we've heard from officials is that the public is not capable of understanding a nuanced message. Keep it simple, we are told.
We disagree. If we can develop a constructive, ongoing effort to reframe health messages then the public can be trained to understand what is being said. It must be a continuous effort. I believe it's an injustice to "talk down to people".
The public can understand if it is explained.
The time is now to begin the dialogue of explaining screening and early detection of cancer. The time is now to get an approved method of screening for lung cancer.
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1 comment:

  1. PoojaMarch 24, 2010 at 1:27 AM

    Thanks for the information. There are number of people dying due to lung cancer. The main cause of lung cancer is smoking. Males are more prone to this disease than compared to women. There are many symptoms of lung cancer like muscle weakness, skin rashes, fatigue, weight loss and a decrease in sodium levels. It is very important to know the symptoms of lung cancer and if diagnoised take proper treatment. There are many treatments available for lung cancer. For more information refer lung cancer symptoms

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