Lung Cancer Screening

Have you smoked in the past?  Or... Are you a current smoker?  If so, lung cancer screening may be an option for you.  

The Center for Chest Care now has a website where you can find the answers to commonly asked questions regarding the benefits of lung cancer screening along with risk factors for developing lung cancer.  

www.screenforlungcancer.com

If you are 50 years or older, have a long history of smoking, exposure to occupational or environmental cancer causing substances, and/or have a family history of lung cancer, then this screening could be right for you.  Call 479.695.0081 for an appointment or more information.  

"Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. With over 200,000 new diagnoses per year and over 160,000 deaths per year, lung cancer is responsible for more deaths each year than breast, colon and prostate cancer combined. Primarily because it is discovered in advanced stages. There is an enormous benefit to detecting lung cancer at its early stages. A screening CT gives the best chance for early detection." from www.screenforlungcancer.com

Lung Cancer Today

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. In 2008 (the most current year these numbers are available), 2,625 Arkansans were diagnosed with lung cancer, and 2,126 died of the disease. In 2012, the American Cancer Society estimates that over 217,000 men and women in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease. Lung cancer accounts for more deaths than ANY OTHER CANCER in both men and women.

Cigarette smoking is the most common risk factor associated with lung cancer. Men and women who smoke are 23 and 13 times more likely, respectively, to die of lung cancer than men and women who do not smoke. There are other risks, including environmental exposure to secondhand smoke, radon gas, asbestos, certain metals, a history of tuberculosis, and a family history of lung cancer. At times, people are diagnosed with lung cancer with no obvious risk factors at all.

Some might ask why a person who has smoked for years should bother to stop, given that damage has already been done. Because stopping makes a difference! Consider a recent report on a long-term study done in the U.K. that shows that women who quit smoking add at least 10 years to their lives. No matter when it happens, stopping smoking is always the right choice.

Earlier this year the FDA reported that new warning labels like these would be implemented* on cigarette packages to educate people about the dangers of smoking. Some might argue that these dangers have been made clear for years, and that it's fine to leave the personal health of individuals up to those individuals. But unfortunately, the people who live with that person who decided to smoke - often including children - are also at risk. A study reported in May showed that children who are exposed to second-hand smoke do not just suffer from respiratory health challenges in their youth, but that the problems - including chronic cough, wheezing, and asthma - lasted into adulthood even if the child never smoked themselves.

The bottom line is, lung cancer is still much too common in our country, and there is still only one major factor in the diagnosis - tobacco smoke. Make the right choice for you and your loved-ones. Stop smoking, and keep living.


*The implementation date is uncertain, due to ongoing proceedings in the case of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, No. 11-1482 (D.D.C.), on appeal, No. 11-5332 (D.C. Cir.).

We hope you'll join us this year for our annual Shine-A-Light on Lung Cancer Vigil scheduled for November 15th at our office. It's a lovely evening of remembering, honoring, and educating. Click on the invitation below to register online.

Lung Cancer is not just for Smokers

We all know that smoking is known to cause lung cancer. The numbers are staggering: The American Cancer Society estimates that 221,130 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in this country during 2011. That is 14% of all cancer diagnoses expected this year. Of those, 156,940 people will die of the disease. Despite these numbers, and the widespread educational efforts showing Americans that smoking causes cancer, people continue to smoke.

Since 1987, more women have died each year from lung cancer than from breast cancer. There are many reasons for this statistic, including the efforts made by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to increase the number of women doing self-checks and getting annual mammograms. Unfortunately, there are not many screenings that can be done to detect lung cancer in early stages. Certainly not any that are low cost and/or covered by a traditional medical insurance policy.

There are efforts currently being promoted at a legislative level to encourage insurance companies to cover screenings for those at high risk, but the argument being presented by those opposing the action is that lung cancer is primarily developed by people who choose to take up an optional habit. They claim that when a person starts smoking they know the risk, and it's their choice to light up. Admittedly, that is the case. But the problem is, smoking is not the only high-risk factor out there. According to the National Cancer Institute, the major risk factors for lung cancer are:

• Smoking - cigarettes, pipes, and cigars are all carcinogenic;
• Secondhand smoke;
• Family history;
• Environmental risks.

It's understood by most people that the risk factor in people who smoke is higher than those who do not. In fact, it is 20x higher. Smoking causes 9 of 10 cases of lung cancer diagnosed in men and 8 of 10 cases in women. Studies have also found that there is a relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked every day, the number of years you've smoked and your risk for lung cancer. But secondhand smoke is also deadly, and people who live with a smoker have no choice but to breathe the air that has been contaminated with carcinogenic compounds. Should they not have an opportunity to get screened?

A workplace can also be a source of cancer risk. Environmental exposures that cause a higher risk for cancer include exposure to radon gas, asbestos, arsenic, chromium, nickel, tar and soot. A long list of industrial and labor jobs can involve exposure to these substances. Unfortunately, the people who work around these substances but who do not smoke are lumped into the same "you brought it on yourself" group that smokers are put in by those who don't understand the broad reach of this disease.

Until the negative stigma of lung cancer is reduced, there is little an at-risk individual can do except be aware of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer and their own risk. Stop smoking today or encourage your loved-ones to do so. We have certified tobacco counselors on staff who can help. Contact Casey Shelor for information at 479-361-5847. Some common signs and symptoms of lung cancer are:

• A cough that doesn't go away;
• Chest pains that get worse when breathing deep, laughing, or coughing;
• Hoarseness;
• Weight loss or loss of appetite;
• Coughing up blood or rust colored spit or phlegm;
• Shortness of breath;
• Feeling tired or weak without exertion;
• Recurring bronchitis; pneumonia, or other respiratory infections;
• New onset of wheezing.

Did you know?? Northwest Arkansas is fortunate to have a Center for Chest Care available for anyone with known or suspected cancers of the lungs or chest. The Clinic provides a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. They schedule biopsies, pulmonary function testing, bronchoscopies, mediastinoscopies and also do CTscans, pet scans, MRI, ultrasounds and lab work to provide the best possible care for their particular diagnosis. The Chest clinic meets every Tuesday afternoon in the Highlands Oncology Group building at 3232 N. Northills Blvd. in Fayetteville. There is also a Lung Cancer Support Group that meets every third Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the upstairs breakroom of the same Highlands Oncology Group building.

On Tuesday, November 1st, Hope Cancer Resources will join over 75 other groups across the nation to host a Shine A Light on Lung Cancer Vigil to raise awareness and support for those living with lung cancer and to remember those who have lost their battle. Stop by from 6:30 - 8:30p.m. for a very special evening that will include short presentations by Dr. James Counce of the Cardiovascular Surgical Clinic of NWA, Kathy Britt, a local survivor and Leigh Ann Walker, a Hope Cancer Resources board member who lost her mother to lung cancer.

The national organization sponsoring these vigils, the Lung Cancer Alliance, has created a website where you can register to attend and have your name put in the running for a trip to Washington D.C. We hope you'll join us!

Shine a Light on Lung Cancer Vigil

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of men and women in the U.S. It will claim the lives of approximately 156,940 people (27% of all deaths from cancer) this year.

On November 1st we will join other groups around the country to host a vigil to raise awareness and support for lung cancer.  Attendees will hear from Dr. James Counce, a thoracic surgeon from the Cardiovascular Surgical Clinic of NWA, as well as Kathy Britt, a local lung cancer survivor and a volunteer for Hope Cancer Resources.  They will tell us about their own experiences with this devastating disease.

The idea and inspiration for the National Shine A Light on Lung Cancer Vigil originated in Boston under the leadership of Diane Legg, a lung cancer survivor and founder of Lung Cancer Alliance's Massachusetts Chapter.  It began as a handful of volunteers on the steps of the capitol and quickly grew into an annual event with hundreds of participants lighting up the Prudential Building in downtown Boston.

Diane and another advocate, David Watson, envisioned a national program offering the millions of people touched by lung cancer a simple yet inspirational and effective way of raising awareness, honoring loved ones, and getting involved in the movement for change. Last year, 65 vigils took place nationwide with thousands in attendance and community-based media sharing the real stories and faces of lung cancer. Thanks to their vision and commitment, the vigil now aims to reach 100 communities nationwide representing all 50 states.  The vigil also has international venues in Australia, an Army base in Afghanistan, and inquiries from several other countries.

We hope you'll join us for this very special evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at our office at 5835 W. Sunset Avenue in Springdale. For more information please contact Adela Martinez, LSW, at 479-361-5847.

Shine a Light on Lung Cancer

This Thursday, from 7-9:00 p.m. we will join survivors and supporters at our office to bring some awareness to lung cancer and the facts of the disease. For example...

• Lung cancer has only a 15% survival rate for patients 5 years out of treatment;
• 15% of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients have never smoked;
• 50% of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients are former smokers - some having quit decades ago;
• Lung cancer will claim more lives this year than colon, prostate and breast cancers combined;
• Lung cancer will kill three times as many men than prostate cancer and almost two times as many women than breast cancer this year;
• Only 16% of lung cancers are diagnosed in the earliest and most curable stage.

 And here is the saddest statistic of all:

Lung cancer is the least funded in dollars per death of the four major cancers. 

(These facts were provided by the quiz offered here)

There is a terrible attitude out there that people who smoke and later develop lung cancer "have it coming" or are just "getting what they deserve." But the majority of people who suffer from it, as the facts above illustrate, either quit smoking before developing cancer or never smoked at all. It's time to recognize that lung cancer is not reserved just for people who knowingly assume the risk of cancer by lighting up. And even if it was... why does that matter? It's a deadly disease, and we should be trying to find out how to end it. Let's raise awareness, and Shine a Light on Lung Cancer.

The specific goals of the vigil, as stated on the official website, are as follows:

• Empowering patients, survivors and those at risk with information, hope, and support to improve outcomes and quality of life.
• Educating and mobilizing Americans to gain a better understanding, and bring attention and support for the lung cancer movement.
• Engaging key decision makers, policy leaders, media, and the medical community, securing multiple millions in public health dollars for lung cancer research.
• Honoring and memorializing loved ones. 

We hope you'll join us Thursday! For more information about the vigil or for directions to our office, please call Jessica Minton at 479-361-5847.

Why we do what we do...

It's rare, perhaps, to have a job where you are often told that what you do every day matters. And not just that it matters on a basic level, to your boss or your co-workers, but matters to individual people who are dealingwith one of the most overwhelming and frightening challenges they have ever faced in their lives.

At Hope Cancer Resources people tell us almost every day that they appreciate what we are doing or have done for them. Sometimes it is at a patient's first appointment when they say "It is so nice to know you are here if I need you." Sometimes it is when we've completed a prescription assistance application and received free medication, saving a patient hundreds of dollars a month, that they say "I don't know what I would have done without this help." About twice a month a patient will actually send a thank you card or call specifically to say thank you. We received a thank you card and a phone call on the same day recently... here are their stories...

"Elise" has been in treatment on and off for over six years for her ovarian cancer. She works when she can as an office assistant. One of our social workers met her during the summer of 2007 when Elise was going through chemotherapy yet again. She complained to one of Highland's Oncology staff about the tooth decay she had suffered as a side effect of her cancer, and was advised to contact us when she had completed her new round of treatment about possible help with dentures. In October 2008, she telephoned us and mailed in a completed application. We stayed in contact with her over the next couple of months while she was being evaluated for further treatments. During that time, we encouraged her to use the community clinic to arrange for free extractions, and to look into several other community resources for help. We then helped her find an affordable place to have dentures made, and advocated with the denture provider to allow her to make payments over the next 90 days on part of her bill. The rest of the amount was paid by Hope Cancer Resources and her church. The thank you card she sent said "Thank you for helping me get my smile back!"

"Mabel" was an active, insured 42-year-old non-smoker with non-small cell lung cancer when we met her in November 2007. She resisted our help at first, even though she was making regular 90-mile round trip drives to Northwest Arkansas for her treatments. One of our social workers made a point to say hello to her each time she saw her in the clinic, and eventually she had a chance to chat with Mabel and her mother as they waited for the doctor. She explained again the services Hope Cancer Resources could offer. Mabel and her mother were concerned about taking our financial support from someone who might "need it more", and were sure they wouldn't qualify for any assistance. Our social worker told them that each patient's concerns are important, and that we look at each patient as an individual. They completed an application and we were able to help them with fuel costs for over two years as she fought the disease. We communicated primarily with Mabel's mom, and always encouraged her to take good care of herself too. We completed a CancerCare application and referred Mabel's two young children to CLIMB (a support group for children of cancer patients), but it was too far for them to drive to Springdale for the weekly meetings. Instead, we provided materials designed to help children cope with a parent's illness. Although Mabel lost her brave battle with cancer in 2009, her mother called to tell us that our help took a burden off of the family during a difficult time, and that we made a difference in their lives.

Whatever the prognosis or result of a cancer patient's diagnosis - the important thing for us is the impact we can have on the patients as they make the journey. The journey is so much better when you have some hope to keep you going.