Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

A holiday wish for lung cancer screening

Nicole Geissen, DO
Conditions
November 26, 2022
Share
Tweet
Share

In November, Mariah Carey defrosts for another holiday season with her iconic tune, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” and social media floods platforms with content about Black Friday and the holidays.

November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of both men and women in the U.S. and worldwide. Lung cancer kills more people each year than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined.

This is an invisible cancer that doesn’t cause symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage when lung cancer is harder to treat.

More than 8 million Americans are considered at high risk for lung cancer. These are men and women ages 50 to 80 who have smoked the equivalent of 20 packs a year, current smokers, or those who have quit in the last 15 years.

And there it is – the elephant in the room: Smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer. Over 80 percent of lung cancer diagnoses occur in current or former smokers. It is estimated that 30 million adults are current smokers.

The Midwest represents the region with the highest percentage of current smokers. Smoking accounts for more than $240 billion in health care spending, nearly $185 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related illnesses and health conditions, nearly $180 billion in lost productivity from smoking-related premature death, and $7 billion in lost productivity from premature death from secondhand smoke exposure.

Smoking is a habit that isolates people in public and burns through their wallets just as quickly as they burn through a pack.

In the 1940s, lung cancer was the first health risk definitively linked to smoking by epidemiological studies.  By 1957, the evidence implicating smoking as a causative factor in lung cancer had been established, leading to the first official statement from the U.S. Public Health Service.

Years of successful tobacco cessation campaigns, starting in the 1970s, have resulted in labeling lung cancer as a smoker’s disease and fostered the perception that one “deserves” lung cancer because they smoke.

While smoking is the largest threat, environmental exposures, such as secondhand smoke, radon, and pollutants; occupational exposures, such as chemicals, combustion products, and diesel exhaust; and genetics also play a role.

This stigma impacts lung cancer awareness, funding for research, and the support available to those affected. Feelings of shame, guilt, blame, and fear consume the afflicted, encourage concealment of the condition, and impact the quality of care.

As a thoracic surgeon, I deal with this daily. I encounter patients at all stages of their disease and in varying stages of acceptance, denial, and despair. I provide patients with both good and bad news on any given day. Whatever my role, I aim to be a source of hope, comfort, and most importantly, an educator. I counteract stigma by instilling hope, promoting empathy, and increasing knowledge about lung cancer.

The most efficacious treatment for lung cancer is in its early stages. This is achieved through early detection; the best option is a low-dose CT scan. This quick and easy test takes about 10 minutes to complete and doesn’t involve needles or dye. The scan involves lying on a table and passing through a ring, so there is no risk of feeling claustrophobic.

ADVERTISEMENT

The radiation dose is equivalent to taking 50 cross-country flights or six months of natural background radiation. The imaging can detect an abnormality the size of a grain of rice. After a scan, patients are contacted with the results, and further testing will be needed if an abnormality is found.

When detected in its early stage, it is possible to reduce the chance of death. When caught before its spreads, the chance of being alive in five years or more improves to 60 percent and may reduce the chance of death by up to 20 percent. Most early-stage lung cancer can be cured with surgery, and this is considered the treatment of choice. Surgery may often be performed minimally invasive with small incisions and a camera.

Lung cancer isn’t a death sentence. The cause of disease doesn’t deny anyone the opportunity or right to treatment. The only way to combat the stigma surrounding lung cancer is to give lung cancer victims, survivors, and educators a voice.

It is essential that this November, along with holiday preparations, everyone can educate themselves on this silent killer and ask their primary care doctor if they qualify for a lung cancer screening scan.

Early detection is the only chance for a cure. The length of Mariah Carey’s iconic holiday song is four minutes, shorter than a low-dose screening scan. But it is long enough to save a life.

 Nicole Geissen is a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The scientific race to defeat a deadly virus

November 26, 2022 Kevin 0
…
Next

The impact of hand surgery on human identity and expression

November 26, 2022 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Oncology/Hematology, Pulmonology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The scientific race to defeat a deadly virus
Next Post >
The impact of hand surgery on human identity and expression

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • When breast cancer screening guidelines conflict: Some patients face real consequences

    Leda Dederich
  • Hormone replacement therapy is still linked to cancer

    Martha Rosenberg
  • Is social media a friend or foe of science?

    Michael Joyce, MD
  • Cancer care costs everyone too much. What can we do about it?

    Andrew Hertler, MD
  • Cancer of the future: diagnosis, treatment, and impact on the health care system and patients

    Eugene Chan, MD
  • COVID is not a great equalizer

    Ritodhi Chatterjee

More in Conditions

  • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

    Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO
  • Why doctors must stop ignoring unintentional weight loss in patients with obesity

    Samantha Malley, FNP-C
  • Why hospitals are quietly capping top doctors’ pay

    Dennis Hursh, Esq
  • Why point-of-care ultrasound belongs in emergency department triage

    Resa E. Lewiss, MD and Courtney M. Smalley, MD
  • Why PSA levels alone shouldn’t define your prostate cancer risk

    Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD
  • Reframing chronic pain and dignity: What a pain clinic teaches us about MAiD and chronic suffering

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...