October 20th, 2008
To kick-off Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the Lung Cancer Research Foundation hosts the Third Annual Lung Cancer Awareness Luncheon and Lecture on Monday, November 3, 2008 at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The event is co-chaired by Laurie C. Carson and Kimberly Kravis Schulhof. The Master of Ceremonies is Sapna Parikh, M.D., Medical Reporter, Fox 5 News. Guest Speaker James R. Rigas, M.D., Director, Comprehensive Thoracic Oncology Program, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Norris Cotton Cancer Center will give a presentation on “The Global Treatment of Lung Cancer: A Historical View.” LCRF will present the inaugural LCRF Scientific Merit Award to Rachel M.A. Linger, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. Time: 12:00PM. Location: The Mandarin Oriental Hotel,
80 Columbus Circle
at
60th Street, New York
. Tickets: $250 and up. For more information visit: www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org
October 15th, 2008
When Lori Hope, 54, a six-year cancer survivor, first tells someone that she successfully battled lung cancer, she is invariably asked, “Did you smoke?”
“My initial reaction to that question, soon after I was diagnosed, was a very powerful, emotional reaction of shame and regret, because I did smoke. And I felt afraid, afraid I’m being judged, afraid I got this disease as a punishment, and even afraid that it could come back and kill me,” Hope says. “It’s not as bad now so many years later, but it still makes me uncomfortable.”
October 10th, 2008
More men and women, usually between the ages of 65 and 75, die of lung cancer than any other cancer.
The majority of lung cancers start in the bronchi, which are the airways that lead to the lungs. There are different types of lung cancer. The most common is called squamous cell carcinoma. Other types of lung cancer are small cell carcinoma or oat cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. Each type grows at a different rate and responds differently to treatment. Except for adenocarcinoma, most lung cancers are related to smoking. Cancer that has spread from other parts of the body to the lungs is also common.
October 8th, 2008
With the abundance of pink ribbons everywhere, most everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The disease is pervasive: One in eight women in their lifetime will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
But there is another cancer that is a greater threat to women’s lives. Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women, according to the National Cancer Institute. It kills more Americans each year than breast, prostate, colorectal and pancreatic cancers combined. Yet, lung cancer only receives a fraction of research funding compared to other cancers. In 2007, the NCI invested less than 5 percent of its $4.8-billion budget into lung cancer research.
September 29th, 2008
Most people find it awkward when first talking with a friend or acquaintance that has just been diagnosed with cancer. Even though nearly everyone is well intentioned, many say things that hurt or mystify more than they comfort.
September 27th, 2008
Two months ago reports began to appear in the press that Mr. Newman was undergoing treatment for
lung cancer. Many of those reports referred to him a “former chain smoker” with all the insinuations inherent in that label.
Mr. Newman was first and foremost a great man and we mourn his passing.
Over 215,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, and the majority will die within 12 months. More people die from lung cancer than breast, prostate, colon, kidney, melanoma and liver cancers combined. Over half of them are former smokers many of whom quit decades ago and did not even realize that they will always be at higher risk. Another 15% have never smoked at all. Yet, the stigma and the blame associated with lung cancer, and the small number of people who survive to fight this, have made lung cancer the least funded of the major cancers in federal research dollars per death.
September 22nd, 2008
Lung cancer will kill more people annually than all other cancers combined. To put this in perspective:
* Twice as many women die from lung cancer annually than breast cancer
* Three times as many men die from lung cancer annually than prostate cancer
Funded cancer research has improved five-year survival rates for breast, prostate and colon cancer. But, for some reason, lung cancer has garnered little attention and too little research money.
September 15th, 2008
While lung cancer in smokers and former smokers is the biggest cancer killer by far, lung cancer in people who have never smoked is — by itself — the sixth biggest cancer killer in the United States.
“Most people are not aware that lung cancer among non-smokers has such an enormous impact,” said Lung Cancer Alliance President Laurie Fenton-Ambrose today. The heavy burden of lung cancer in non-smokers contradicts the common belief that lung cancer is a disease that strikes only smokers.
September 13th, 2008
THE letter captioned, Unfair to stigmatise lung cancer patients published in this newspaper earlier in the month caught my eye.
I concur. We should not stigmatise lung cancer patients, or any patient for that matter.
September 11th, 2008
Longtime friends Julia Roberts and Dave Matthews joined forces Wednesday night at the sold-out Stand Up For a Cure concert at Madison Square Garden to benefit lung cancer research.
