Erie County is winning the fight against heart disease and stroke.

But cancer, particularly lung cancer, is proving to be a difficult opponent.

The 2009 Erie County Health Profile shows that the county’s death rates for heart disease and stroke both declined significantly, from 291.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 1996-98 to 229.2 deaths in 2004-06.

The cancer rate increased slightly during that time, from 203.3 deaths to 204.7. The rate for lung cancer increased from 54.8 to 62.7.

St. Mary Mercy Hospital will offer a presentation called “Let’s Talk About Lung Cancer” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, in the St. Mary Mercy Hospital Auditorium.

 ImClone Systems, which was recently acquired by Eli Lilly & Co., and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.said Friday they decided to withdraw a Food and Drug Administration application to market cancer drug Erbitux for a type of advanced lung cancer. The drug makers said they will eventually resubmit the application. Erbitux is currently approved for colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer

 ImClone Systems, which was recently acquired by Eli Lilly & Co., and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.said Friday they decided to withdraw a Food and Drug Administration application to market cancer drug Erbitux for a type of advanced . The drug makers said they will eventually resubmit the application. Erbitux is currently approved for colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer

Just two months after undergoing lung cancer surgery, Merle Haggard says he’s back in business.

“I’m doing real well – a little better every day,” the country legend tells PEOPLE. “I have a little bicycle in the back room I’m starting to exercise on and I’m going into the studio to see how my voice sounds.”

Haggard, 71, had surgery in November to remove a lemon-sized tumor. “Most of the reports were like, ‘He’s got six months to live!’ There was never any indication of that,” he says.

 Lung cancer spreads around the body when cells break away from the original lump (tumour).

The cells then travel to other parts of your body and start growing there. This spread is called metastasis. This is a more advanced and serious form of cancer.

There is quite a lot of research comparing intensive chemotherapy with standard chemotherapy. But the results are mixed and there’s no clear evidence that intensive chemotherapy is any better than standard chemotherapy.

One summary of research (called a systematic review) looked at studies involving almost 5,500 people with small-cell lung cancer.[1] The people who had intensive chemotherapy lived for about 12 months, compared with about 10 months for people who had the usual doses of chemotherapy.

A different summary of research looked at two other studies that included more than 500 people. It found that people who had intensive chemotherapy weren’t more likely to live longer

A growing chorus of experts, including scientists testifying before the President’s Cancer Panel, investigators at the U.S. EPA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and leading health organizations are urging the EPA Administrator to use regulatory authorities authorized by Congress to protect citizens from lung cancer caused by indoor radon exposure.

“Racial Disparities Among Patients With Lung Cancer Who Were Recommended Operative Therapy,” Archives of Surgery: Researchers led by Farhood Farjah of University of Washington’s Surgical Outcomes Research Center examined 17,739 patients who were diagnosed with early stage lung cancer between Jan. 1, 1992, and Dec. 31, 2002, and were recommended to receive lung resection. Among those patients, 69% of blacks received the surgery, compared with 83% of whites. However, after making adjustments, researchers found no significant association between race and death, despite the 14% difference in the receipt of surgery. The findings suggest that “distrust, beliefs and perceptions about lung cancer and its treatment, and limited access to care (despite insurance) might have a more dominant role in perpetuating racial disparities than previously recognized,” according to the study (Archives of Surgery, January 2009).

There are three main types of non-small-cell lung cancer.

• Adenocarcinoma: This kind of cancer grows in some glands that produce mucus. It usually starts in the airways at the outer edges of the lungs. It is the most common type of non-small-cell lung cancer, making up about two-fifths of all cases of lung cancer.[1]
• Squamous cell carcinoma: This is a slow-growing cancer that affects the airways. It makes up about one-third of all lung cancers.
• Large cell carcinoma: This type of cancer is made up of larger cells than other forms of lung cancer. About 15 percent of lung cancers are this type.[1]