Christine Posted November 23, 2006 Posted November 23, 2006 http://www.SeniorJournal.com/NEWS/Healt ... liance.htm November 22, 2006 – Riding the crest of interest created by the recent study indicating the high value of low-dose CT screening in the early detection of lung cancer, the Lung Cancer Alliance has launched a new Website aimed at educating people on the deadliest cancer and this new hope for early detection. The launch of LCA's site, which targets at risk people, comes less than one month after the landmark study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that yearly low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) screening for people at high risk can detect lung cancer at the earliest stage, dramatically increasing chance of survival. The current five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with lung cancer is only 15 percent. More than 70% of new lung cancers are diagnosed in people whose cancer is at late- stage, when survival is poor. Remarkably, the study showed an estimated 92 percent ten-year survival rate for those whose cancers are detected early and removed immediately. Lung cancer has long been the number one cancer killer of men, but it did not become the number one killer of U.S. women in 1987, primarily the result of increased smoking by women. Lung cancer passed up breast cancer as the top female killer and many point to one reason being the lack of early diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer. Over 72,000 U.S. women are expected to die from lung cancer this year, which will be 30,000 more than die from breast cancer and more than 25 percent of all cancer deaths for women. Surprisingly, however, less than 82,000 new cases of lung cancer are expected this year, while there will be 213,000 new cases of breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Lung cancer will kill about 90,000 U.S. men this year. "We now know that screening those at high risk can detect lung cancer at the earliest stages, when it's most treatable," said Laurie Fenton, President of Lung Cancer Alliance. "This new site provides smokers, former smokers, or anyone at high risk for developing lung cancer with an education about the screening process. It is critical for people to know their risks, and to know that they can now do something to protect themselves from this lethal disease." Screenforlungcancer.org provides information on the importance of screening and the screening process, tools for assessing a person's risk for developing lung cancer, and a directory of leading institutions with the highest screening standards. Visitors can also experience the entire screening process by viewing videos of a person undergoing a CT scan, as well as photographs. LCA is the only national organization solely dedicated to patient support and advocacy for people living with or at risk for lung cancer, which causes more deaths in the United States than any other cancer. As the number one cancer killer, lung cancer will kill more than 160,000 Americans this year alone, causing more deaths than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney cancers and melanoma combined. For more information on the services provided by Lung Cancer Alliance, visit http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/. >> New Website - http://www.screenforlungcancer.org/ Quote
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