BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and as the month draws to a close, we focus on increasing understanding about the disease and highlighting the ongoing research into defeating it.
Lung cancer accounts for nearly 25 percent of all cancer-related deaths, and this month, local oncologist Dr. Ravi Patel is getting the world out about why early prevention is so important.
"If you look at it, lung cancer kills more people than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined, so it's a very deadly kind of cancer," said Patel.
According to Dr. Patel, there are two kinds of lung cancer: small cell and non-small cell. Small cell lung cancer occurs mostly in smokers, and if left untreated patients can die within three to six months of diagnosis. Non-small cell lung cancer is relatively slow-growing and can be treated with surgery or radiation.
Patel adds that immunotherapy has become another option to treat lung cancer.
"The way it works is that cancer cells evade the immune system and what these new immunotherapy drugs do is like shining a light on the cancer cells. They awaken the immune system and allow it to recognize cancer cells in the body and help attack it. So that is what is called immunotherapy," said Patel. "A very exciting area. They won a Nobel Prize for this discovery and it has become very useful for treating several other kinds of cancers."
Dr. Patel says certain genes and a history of smoking can make the cancer more aggressive, and that prevention and early detection increase curability.
"We're doing the free low-dose CT scan for patience that have a longstanding history of smoking," said Patel. "If they don't remember how many years, don't worry about it. Just call. us and we'll guide them through, and then do the low-dose CT scan for them for free and help them out."
Dr. Patel says if you have been a long-time smoker, you should do a low-dose CT scan every other year to ensure that any lung abnormalities are detected early enough to be manageable and prevent advanced lung cancer.
For more information on lung cancer treatment and prevention, please visit the American Lung Association's website.
