Friday, November 2, 2007

Navigating Lung Cancer

Quick quiz!

Which form of cancer causes the highest number of deaths in American women each year? Nope, not breast cancer.

OK, what kind of cancer kills the most men each year in the United States? No, it's not prostate cancer.

Alright, what form of cancer kills more Americans each year than breast, prostate and colorectal cancers combined? No fair if you’re looking up the answer (although I did).

The answer, if you haven’t guessed by now, is lung cancer. According to information from the American Cancer Society, an estimated 213,380 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2007, accounting for about 15 percent of cancer diagnoses. There will also be an estimated 160,390 deaths for both men and women, accounting for about 29 percent of all cancer deaths.

However, while there are huge campaigns for breast and prostate cancers that raise money as well as awareness of the need for prevention and early detection, there has been less of a crusade against lung cancer.

Part of that could stem from a social stigma. The most common factor for developing lung cancer is smoking and since most everyone by now (except, apparently, the tobacco companies) knows that smoking causes cancer, there seems to be less sympathy for those being diagnosed.

“People think, ‘You smoked, you got lung cancer, what did you expect?’” said Lindsay Mattino, clinical research coordinator and lung cancer navigator at the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center at Martin Memorial. “But nobody deserves to get cancer.”

To help lung cancer patients, Martin Memorial developed the lung cancer navigator program that began Nov. 1. It is similar to the breast health navigator program at the cancer center, which has been very successful in its two-plus years assisting patients with breast cancer.

Mattino will work with Paulette Craft, Martin Memorial’s oncology social worker, and they will help provide patients with access to resources. That can include financial assistance, help navigating through their treatment options and support groups.

“This is like a mission for me,” Mattino said. “I feel like we’re really going to be helping a population that needs help.”

For more information about the lung health navigator program, call Mattino at (772) 223-5945, ext. 1669.
-- Scott Samples

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