Find
lung
cancer
early
IT’S TIME TO BE A QUITTER
Robert Avery, MD,
will be presenting a
seminar on lung cancer
on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at
Jackson Hospital. For
more information or to
register, please call
334-293-8805 or visit
Jackson offers lifesaving screening
Figure out how much you’re spending
on smoking at
or scan the code at left.
Then imagine what you could buy instead.
SMOKING
Lung cancer
is the leading cause of
cancer death, expected to claim nearly
160,000 lives in 2014.
While tobacco use is the main culprit
in lung cancer, it is certainly not the ex-
clusive cause. Radiation therapy, environ-
mental issues, pulmonary fibrosis, HIV
infection, genetic factors and diet can all
contribute to lung cancer.
Lung cancer begins when cells in the
lungs start to develop abnormally and
then multiply and clump together into a
tumor. As it grows, the lung cancer can
cause certain symptoms, including cough,
coughing up blood, chest pain, shortness
of breath, a hoarse voice, and swelling
of veins and face. When lung cancer is
found after symptoms develop, the cancer
is often in an advanced stage. And more
than half of all people with lung cancer
die within a year of diagnosis.
Tobacco does account for 90 percent
of lung cancers, so now is the time to
quit. A person who has smoked a pack of
cigarettes a day for 40 years is 20 times
more likely to get lung cancer than a
nonsmoker. The risk increases with the
number of cigarettes smoked per day and
the number of years a person has smoked.
“Smoking rates in the United States
have dropped to 18 percent, and although
lung cancer is one of the most preventable
cancers, it is still the No. 1 cancer killer,”
said Robert Avery, MD. “This is the time
for people to wake up and take action
by quitting the tobacco habit and getting
screened if they are at risk.”
Make food your ally
While quitting smoking is a huge step
in preventing lung cancer, there are also
foods that aid in prevention. Nine or
more servings of fruits and vegetables
each day can go a long way toward
prevention, especially when those foods
include cruciferous vegetables, green leafy
vegetables, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, grapes
and berries, as well as green tea. These
foods work to prevent cancer by breaking
down cancer-causing chemicals in food
and stopping or slowing the growth of
cancerous cells.
Screen time
If you are at risk of developing lung can-
cer because you smoke or only recently
quit, screening by a medical professional
can give you an accurate and early lung
cancer diagnosis. When caught in the
early stages, lung cancer can be cured in
80 to 90 percent of cases.
If you’re between 55 and 80, have a
history of heavy smoking, are currently
smoking or have quit within the last
15 years, you should consider a lung
cancer screening. Jackson Imaging Center
offers quick, painless low-dose CT scans
for lung cancer screening. Covered by
most insurance plans with a physician’s
referral, the scans offer peace of mind
that comes from knowing you’re healthy.
For more information on being screened,
call
334-834-3671
.
The best way to prevent lung cancer is
to quit smoking. The risk of developing
lung cancer drops every year after
cessation.
In 20 minutes
Your blood pressure
drops to the level it was before your last
cigarette.
In 2 weeks to 3 months
Your circulation im-
proves and your lung function increases.
In 1 to 9 months
Coughing and
shortness of breath
decrease.
Ten years after quitting,
the risk of
dying from lung cancer is about half
that of a person who is still smoking.
After 15 years,
the risk is almost the
equivalent to the risk for nonsmokers.
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