LungBlog

Dr. Thomas D’Amico at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center said Clever needed the lower third of his right lung removed. Standard lobectomy surgery would mean a large incision, cutting through muscle and cracking open the ribs. But in a newer minimally invasive procedure, surgeons work laproscopically through two small incisions.

Scientists are a step closer to finding out why some people get cancer. A team from Dundee University have discovered that people who carry a variant of a specific gene are less likely to develop lung cancer.

A ban on lighting up in most enclosed public places is now in force in Northern Ireland. The new law means smoking is banned in workplaces, including bars and restaurants, as well as public transport

To detect lung problems in the past, doctors would sniff the breath of patients, looking for a sweet smell indicative of diabetes, or a yeasty note characteristic of tuberculosis. And, as funny as it sounds, it sounds like they may have been on to something back then. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have built a prototype breathalyzer that may radically change the way that doctors detect lung cancer.

Barbara Joan Sealy led a healthy life, exercising, eating well and never smoking.

But that didn’t prevent the Toronto-area woman, described by her husband as the healthiest person he knew, from falling victim to lung cancer and dying on May 21, 2002.

It was with the intent of preventing a similar fate from happening to other families that Sealy’s loved ones yesterday contributed $1 million — which was matched by the University of Ottawa — toward the creation of a $2-million endowment fund, which will support a research chair named in her honour.

According to results from a Phase III trial, the use of Aranesp® (darbepoetin alfa) in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) being treated with chemotherapy results in improved levels of hemoglobin without affecting progression-free survival or overall survival.

The long-term use of non-aspirin anti-inflammatory painkillers, or NSAIDs, appears to slightly reduce the risk of a person developing lung cancer, according to research published in the International Journal of Cancer.

Ann Centers is one of more than 350,000 people living with lung cancer across the country.

She recently learned her cancer is no longer restricted to her lungs.

“The lung cancer has now spread to the brain,” said Centers.

Ann has never smoked, but she thinks she knows how the cancer developed – from secondhand smoke.

Lung cancer, mesothelioma, and bladder cancer are among the most common types of occupational cancers. Every tenth lung cancer death is closely related to risks in the workplace. Currently about 125 million people around the world are exposed to asbestos at work, and at least 90 000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases. Thousands more die from leukemia caused by exposure to benzene, an organic solvent widely used by workers, including in the chemical and diamond industries.