Lung Cancer Symptoms and Treatment

Breathe Easier: Become An EX During Lung Cancer Awareness Month

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:18:31 -0600

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) is challenging all smokers who want to quit to try again.

Lung Cancer Needs Awareness

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:31:55 -0600

Lung cancer kills more than four times as many Americans as breast cancer. But while pink ribbons trumpet Breast Cancer Awareness Month throughout October, little attention is paid to lung cancer in November, which is that disease’s awareness month.

“My wish is the world would stand up and say we’ve done so well with breast cancer, let’s now do the same for lung cancer,” says Douglas Arenberg, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine and a lung cancer specialist at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Drop Smoking During The Great American Smokeout 2008

Kathleen Blanchard RN — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:20:52 -0600

Public smoking laws are frequently ignored. Most recently, India initiated a smoking ban, but many experts wondered if it would work. A major impetus to save lives through smoking cessation will save millions of lives worldwide. The Great American Smokeout 2008 is the latest effort to curb a genuine global health issue of smoking. Today is a focus of much attention to encourage Americans to stop smoking.

Michigan Observes November As Lung Cancer Awareness Month

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:36:51 -0600

November marks National Lung Cancer Awareness Month and the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is proud to participate in the national effort to raise public attention about this disease.

Tarceva Found to be Effective in Treating Lung Cancer

Toni Brayer MD — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:51:12 -0600

Genetech Inc and OSI Pharmaceuticals have announced their drug Tarceva is effective in delaying the advance of lung cancer. Tarceva is a target agent that is currently used as a second line treatment for patients with Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after they have failed chemotherapy. OSI and Genentec said their drug met its main goal in a primary treatment clinical trial as it stopped the spread of advanced NSCLC significantly longer than placebo.

Genetic Study Sheds Light On Lung Cancer

ruzik_tuzik — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:55:11 -0500

A multi-institution team, funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today reported results of the largest effort to date to chart the genetic changes involved in the most common form of lung cancer, lung adenocarcinoma. The findings should help pave the way for more individualized approaches for detecting and treating the nation's leading cause of cancer deaths.

In lung cancer surgery practice makes perfect

hareyan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:08:05 -0500

Patients operated on by surgeons who do not routinely remove cancer from the lungs may be at a higher risk for complications, according to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

"Our study found that hospitals that do higher volumes of these types of surgeries have correspondingly lower mortality rates than those who do fewer of the procedures," said Andrew Shaw, M.D., an anesthesiologist at Duke and lead investigator on the study.

First-Line Treatment For Deadly Lung Cancer Not Superior

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:55:09 -0500

Lung cancer is one of the most common — and deadliest — cancers. Small cell lung cancer makes up about 10 percent to 15 percent of all lung cancers. Because of early metastatic spread, small cell lung cancer has very poor long-term survival with less than 10 percent of patients surviving two years after diagnosis.

Chemotherapy is the most common treatment for small cell lung cancer and many consider drugs containing platinum the most effective agents. However, a new evidence review calls that assumption into question.

Lung Ablation Use May To Combat Cancer

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:22:42 -0500

Five years ago Vera Morrison of Madison Heights was diagnosed with lung cancer- the No. 1 cause of death among men and women in the United States. After radiation treatments failed, her future didn't look so bright.

But then she was given the option to try a new treatment called lung ablation by Beaumont interventional radiologist Michael Savin, M.D. She agreed to treatment with radiofrequency ablation, or RFA. Since her RFA in May 2006, her cancer has been in remission.

Genentech-Avastin Combination No Better Lung Cancer Treatment

hareyan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:54:29 -0500

A clinical trial looking at combination of two popular lung cancer drugs Tarceva and Avastin showed that the drugs given together for lung cancer treatment do not increase survival rates.

Tarceva is marketed by Genentech and Avastin by Roche. Both drugs are already widely available in US and Europe as lung cancer treatment. Both drugs belong to a series of drugs under targeted therapies – innovative drugs that are also called ‘smart bombs’ because they are able to differ cancerous cells from healthy ones and kill those affected by the disease.