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The Stigma of Lung Cancer
Recently, Dana Reeve, wife of actor Christopher Reeve, made the announcement to the media that she has been name with lung disease. The one thing that has been quoted in nearly every newspaper story about her illness is the fact that she never smoked. Some even cast doubt on the assertion, adding that exploration through folks close to Ms. Reeve confirms that she never smoked.
Many professionals in the medical community transfer to the 'stigma' associated with lung cancer. Not Like patients diagnosed with other cancers, they say, their lung cancer patients often come to their appointments alone. Many hide their diagnoses from links, or characterize it vaguely as 'cancer'. Carolyn Clary-Macy, a nurse at the UCSF Thoracic Surgery unit, writing an impassioned, open letter to the public claims that the stigma is killing people.
"Lung melanoma is not a sexy disease", she writes in her letter. No company seems to want its name associated with lung cancer. There are no marathons to lift awareness, no fundraising drives, no mention of lung cancer but in hushed voices in the back hall of the hospitals where it is treated. The reason, she feels - and most agree with her - is that many people blame lung cancer victims for their own disease. Because lung cancer is so clearly correlated with smoking, folks diagnosed with lung cancer are sometimes seen as 'shocking people' who brought their condition on themselves.
In piece of information, about 5% of persons diagnosed with lung tumour have no history of smoking at all. The cause may have been used smoke, it may have been environmental pollutants, it may have been asbestos - or it may be completely undetermined. Lung cancer will kill nearly 160,000 people this year. Another 170,000 people will learn that they have lung cancer. Just About everyone knows someone who has died from lung cancer. And up till now, with this many folks dying of lung disease, we expend less than $1000 per lung melanoma death on research. Compare that to AIDS research - $35,000 per death from AIDS that is spent on AIDS seek. To make things even bleaker, the funding for research into treatments for lung cancer has dropped under the current administration.
It is fine identified that the best chance for surviving lung cancer lies in early diagnosis - and the best chance for near the beginning diagnosis lies in public awareness. We need methods that will detect lung cancer earlier. We need public service declaration and campaigns reminding people that viewing for lung cancer is a very important part of their health care. We need outreach into populations that are time form targeted by cigarette ads and that have been under fire by cigarette ads not only to be them from smoke, but to make them aware that they MUST be checked often for symptoms of lung cancer.
It's time to bring lung melanoma out from behind the smokescreen of blame and shame and focus public concentration on equally prevention AND cure options. With adequate funding and more scientists working on cures and treatments, lung cancer can become a thing of the past.
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