A Madison lung cancer expert will be featured on a nationaltelevision health show Thursday.

Regina Vidaver, executive director of the National Lung CancerPartnership, based in Madison, was in New York City last month fora taping of “The Dr. Oz Show,” which airs weekdays from 2 to 3 p.m.on WISC-TV (Ch. 3).

Vidaver discussed how anybody can get lung cancer, whetherthey’ve smoked or not. 

“One of the messages was that lung cancer can occur in anyone,”she said. “The highest risk obviously are people with a significantsmoking history, but people who have already quit smoking remain atrisk for 20 years or more.”

Her segment was about 10 to 15 minutes and she was on with Dr.Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society,and two survivors, Vidaver said.

Lung cancer is the no. 1 cause of cancer deaths in the UnitedStates, killing more people than breast, prostate and colon cancercombined, with cigarette smoking causing 87 percent of lung cancerdeaths, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

Vidaver, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology from theUW-Madison, was asked about some of the other causes of lung cancerbesides smoking, and talked about secondhand smoke and radonexposure. “And that a genetic predisposition is also unfortunatelyone of the bigger risk factors,” she said.

“We also talked about the different symptoms, particularly acough that won’t go away, if you cough up blood and unexplainedpain in the chest or shoulders,” Vidaver said.

Vidaver has been the group’s executive director since 2004.

PHOENIX – what is the number one cancer killer? many would answer breast cancer for women and perhaps prostate cancer for men, but the truth is it’s lung cancer for both sexes.

The reason, 85 percent of lung cancer symptoms present themselves during the latest stages of the disease, according to Dr. Michael Smith with the Heart and Lung Institute at St. Joseph’s Medical Center. That means by the time you get diagnosed, it’s already too late.

A new study could change that. The National Lung Screening trial concludes that a CT (computed tomography) scan can catch tumors early and reduce deaths from lung cancer by 20 percent.

Dr. Smith says this is something they have always believed to be true, but have never had the scientific evidence.

He says, currently only 15 percent of lung cancer patients find their cancer in the early stages and most of the time it’s found by accident.

“The patient comes in for a knee surgery and has a lung scan to prep for surgery,” said Dr. Smith.

He says it will be several years before details can be determined like; who should be scanned, when they should be scanned and how these pricey scans are going to be paid for.

“Major hurdles will be funding,” said Dr. Smith.

He believes research for breast, colon and prostate cancers get more funding and thus more results.

Dr. Smith says tobacco has a grip on our country, but because smoking is a choice, lung cancer patients get less sympathy than other cancer victims.

But he says this is a long awaited step in the right direction.  

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Thursday, 25 November 2010

East Belfast MP Naomi Long has joined celebrities such as Ricky Gervais to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer and of what needs to be done to improve outcomes for patients and mark National Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November.

Each year 39,750 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK. the disease is te UK’s largest cancer killer, with one person with lung cancer dying every 15 minutes. Despite this, awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer is low and more than two thirds of patients are diagnosed at a stage when curative treatment is no longer an option.

Ms Long said: “There are, on average 61 diagnoses of lung cancer in each UK parliamentary constituency every year. I commend the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation’s work in supporting patients with lung cancer and campaigning for research funding and awareness raising. it is vital that we all take action to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer if lung cancer outcomes are to improve.”

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, Chief Executive of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation said: “We are delighted that Naomi Long has chosen to mark Lung Cancer Awareness Month and support our campaign to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer.”