Northwest Iowa — November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Every day 422 Americans will die of lung cancer. While it is the leading cancer killer of both men and women, experts say it receives the least amount of federal research funding.
Laurie Ambrose of the GO2 Foundation says there’s a stigma associated with lung cancer. She tells us when most people hear about someone with lung cancer they immediately ask about smoking.
Ambrose tells us lung cancer takes more lives than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined.
She says that despite those figures lung cancer research receives the least amount of funding.
Ambrose reminds us that a diagnosis of cancer does not mean that your life is over. There’s actually been a dramatic increase in survival rates for victims of lung cancer.
According to Ambrose, legislation is making its way through Capitol Hill.
Another way to reduce the number of deaths due to lung cancer is to curb smoking. Thursday was the American Lung Association’s Great American Smokeout. It’s an annual event that encourages and offers support to smokers to make a plan to quit smoking or to quit smoking on the day of the event – the third Thursday in November each year.
