Category - Cancer Education

As we head into the month of November, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, I want to share some facts about the deadliest cancer in the United States. Lung cancer kills more people than colon, prostate, and breast cancer combined. More women die from lung cancer than breast cancer and it kills more men than prostate cancer. The high fatality rate is a result diagnosing the disease too late, at a time when surgery is no longer an option.

Unfortunately, even though it’s such a problem, there is very little public dialogue about lung cancer.

If you smoke, quit. It will be the smartest decision you make on your journey to fight cancer. There’s nothing more damaging to your treatment and overall health than tobacco use. The sooner you quit the better. Smoking decreases your chance of survival, increases your chance of cancer recurrence, and exposes you to a number of other ailments – including a second cancer down the road, pulmonary disease and heart disease.

As manager of the Chemo/Infusion Clinic at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, I meet many new patients who experience anxiety about receiving chemotherapy. It is only natural to feel this way about treatment and potential hair loss. Patients often want to know when they will start losing their hair and why it happens.

Earlier this month, a British study published in The Lancet revealed that computed tomography (CT) scans can raise the risk of brain cancer and leukemia in children later in life. The study may very well make some parents wonder about the necessity of a CT scan for their child and whether it’s worth the possibility of negative long-term effects.