Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in America and the leading cause of cancer death. As such, there is a lot of information out there you might come across while researching the disease. But how do you sort the fact from fiction? Well, we’ve done some of the legwork for you by finding our top five lung cancer myths and setting the record straight.
When it comes to cancer screenings, there can be some confusion as to what tests are recommended, who should be getting them, and how often. Since February is National Cancer Prevention Awareness Month, we thought it would be a good time to review the cancer screening guidelines for 2022. Following these testing recommendations, along with making healthy lifestyle choices, can help lower your risk regarding certain cancers.
When it comes to treating cancer with radiation, many patients are concerned about the long-term effects the treatment will have on their heart. For cancers near this vital organ, traditional x-ray radiation can cause several cardiac health issues, including heart attacks, heart failure, and arrhythmias.1
Heart radiation from cancer treatment is especially worrisome for breast, lung, and esophageal cancer patients. If any part of the heart is exposed to radiation, the risk of heart disease is increased. Often, these cardiac side effects don’t appear until several years after the cancer treatment.
In this article, we’ll look at each of those cancers and identify the risk associated with radiation, as well as how proton therapy cancer treatment can help alleviate some of the concerns.
The number of American cancer deaths from 2017 to 2018 dropped by 2.4%, marking a record single-year drop for the second year in a row at the time of publication. These stats were published in the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) annual Cancer Facts & Figures report, which also revealed more positive news regarding the long-term direction of cancer death rates.
When treating lung cancer with radiation therapy, there is a significant concern that the treatment dose will expose the heart to excess radiation. One way to avoid this unnecessary radiation is by using proton therapy, a more precise form of radiation therapy compared to traditional radiation therapy (x-rays/photons).
Researchers now say there is a link between lung cancer proton therapy and a reduced risk of certain heart diseases, including mini-strokes and heart attacks.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, life as we knew it came to an abrupt halt. That included routine healthcare visits, as many providers postponed appointments and cancer screening tests that were deemed “non-essential.”
In the United States alone, an estimated 22 million cancer screening tests were disrupted by COVID-19 from April to June 2020. As a result, about 80,000 patients could be at risk for delayed or missed diagnoses.
The IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science published these estimates as part of its report on shifts in healthcare demand, delivery and care during the COVID-19 era. In this article, we’ll look at how diagnostic procedures for some of the most common cancers are impacted. We’ll also share some tips to help you move forward with your cancer-related care in a timely and safe manner.
X-ray (also called photon) therapy has long been known to cause the development of potentially deadly new cancers in patients who undergo radiation therapy to treat their cancer. However, research shows that patients who choose proton therapy for cancer treatment have a significantly lower risk of developing a second cancer later in life.
In a comprehensive study published in Cancer, the prestigious, peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, researchers at Stanford University found that patients who were treated with x-ray therapy developed more than three times as many new cancers as patients treated with proton therapy.1
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is dedicated to educating the public about the prevalence of the disease in the United States, and providing resources on prevention, screening and treatment.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. It is the second most common cancer in both men and women (not counting skin cancer). For men, prostate cancer is the only cancer more common, while in women breast cancer is more common.
In the largest side-by-side comparison study of its kind, proton therapy for cancer treatment was found to have fewer side effects while maintaining similar survival rates when compared to traditional x-ray radiation therapy. CONTINUE READING
By replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat, the Mediterranean diet could play in a role in reducing the risk of lung cancer. According to recent studies, benefits of polyunsaturated fats have been widely reviewed by looking at the relationship between dietary components of the Mediterranean diet and cancer risk, diabetes, cardiovascular events, and Alzheimer’s disease. Within these studies, the primary conclusion shows correlation between fat intake and risk associated with lung cancer.