2023 Lung Cancer Awareness Month!

Putting on the finery for another November where we focus our attention on raising the awareness of lung cancer. Sadly, lung cancer is still the biggest cause of cancer related death in the world by far.

But we will never give up. Lung cancer must lose.

Improvements in smoking cessation are reducing the greatest risk factor for lung cancer. Advocacy and education are preventing the next generation from even starting. We will be putting out a multiple post discussion of how it’s not the fault of the smoker that they smoke. This “expose” will highlight the role the tobacco companies had in getting people addicted to nicotine.

Lung Cancer screening continues to take off, especially in the US Veterans Administration hospitals (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009377542200046X?via%3Dihub), moving the needle further and further towards earlier diagnosis when cures are still possible.

Advances in biopsy techniques, including robotic navigational bronchoscopy, are biopsying patients at earlier and earlier timepoints further improving the chance of a cure. Look for posts this month discussing biopsy results.

Thoracic surgery now uses minimally invasive techniques to provide the same cure without the prolonged recovery times and pain. Radiation oncology uses targeted beams of radiation to provide similar outcomes to surgery.

Oncology no longer requires “grandpa’s chemo” where harsh medications attempted to kill the tumor before they killed the patient. Now research has provided better, more tolerable medicines. Precision oncology therapeutics have advanced to where they can selectively target the mutated part of the tumor to improve effectiveness with decreased side effects. And immunotherapy has proven magnanimous in improving outcomes by unleashing the patient’s own immune system to attack the tumor.

Clinical studies are ongoing to find better screening tests, prevent tumors from developing and treating those that do with better medicines.

The future for patients with lung cancer is looking up!

‘Cause No One Should Die of Lung Cancer!