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Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) will provide lung cancer risk assessments for veterans and military beneficiaries beginning today during a Lung Cancer Screening and Awareness Day.
All military beneficiaries and District of Columba Veterans Affairs (VA) veterans may participate in the screening at WRNMMC today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Internal Medicine clinic located in the America Building, first floor, according to Lt. Cmdr. Corey A. Carter, of Hematology-Oncology at Walter Reed Bethesda.
“The event is just the kick-off,” Carter added. “Screening will be performed every day, just like mammograms are performed every day.”
“This important new lung cancer screening program for military and veterans at high risk has the potential to save lives and decrease death from lung cancer,” said Army Col. (Dr.) Craig Shriver, chief of General Surgery Service and interim director of the U. S. Military Cancer Institute at WRNMMC. “The Cancer Center at Walter Reed Bethesda is proud to be the first military medical center to offer this unique program to our beneficiaries.”
The screening is being held in conjunction with Lung Cancer Awareness Month, observed annually during November. The observance began as Lung Cancer Awareness Day in 1995, and expanded to a month-long observance in order to draw greater attention to the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association.
Annually, approximately 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with lung cancer, and more than 150,000 people die from this disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Deaths from lung cancer represent about one out of every six deaths from cancer in the U.S., according to the CDC. The CDC cites smoking causes 80 to 90 percent of cases of lung cancer.
Carter explained the purpose for the lung cancer screening is for a 20 percent reduction in lung cancer death. Veterans may be among those with the highest risk for lung cancer, he added. “Smoking is the biggest risk factor. Added to this, many of our veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, [in addition to] occupational exposure to jet and diesel fuel,” Carter said.
At Walter Reed Bethesda, the lung cancer screening will include an evaluation to verify a patient is at high risk for the disease, Carter explained. Those at risk will be enrolled into a screening program that will conduct annual low dose chest CT scans, he added.
Carter said the five-year survival rate for a person diagnosed with lung cancer is 15 percent. “We are hoping to diagnose lung cancer earlier, at a curable stage.”
He added it’s important people understand their risk factors for lung cancer. According to the CDC, lung cancer risk factors include:
- Smoking
- Secondhand smoke from other people’s cigarettes
- Radon gas in the home
- Things around the home or work that, include asbestos, ionizing radiation, and other cancer-causing substances
- Medical radiation exposure to the chest
- Chronic lung disease such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis
- Increased age
Carter went on to note people should understand the risk factors, and get screened. “We will offer an appointment with a medical home team member to screen all of our beneficiaries for risk factors and determine if they would benefit from screening.
“Walter Reed Bethesda is leading the nation by forming a multidisciplinary screening program and will offer it to our high risk patients,” Carter added.
According to the CDC, not everyone has the same symptoms for lung cancer.”Some people don’t have any symptoms at all when first diagnosed with lung cancer. Lung cancer symptoms may include:
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing that doesn’t go away
- Wheezing
- Coughing up blood
- Chest pain
- Repeated respiratory infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia
These symptoms can happen with other illnesses, which is why Carter encourages veterans and beneficiaries to participate in the screening beginning Nov. 8.
The CDC also states people can reduce their risk of developing lung cancer in several ways, including the following:
- Don’t smoke. If you do smoke, quit now
- Avoid secondhand smoke
- Have your home tested for radon and take corrective actions if high levels are found
- Be aware of your exposure to radiation from medical imaging. Ask your doctor about the need for medical tests that involve images of the chest.
- Follow health and safety guidelines in the workplace when working with toxic materials.- Avoid diesel exhaust and other harmful air pollutants.

Lt. Commander Corey A. Carter, Walter Reed National Military Hospital from TEAM DRAFT on Vimeo.

Phoebe Cancer Center in Albany, Georgia
A Leading Southeast Cancer Treatment Center Located in Southwest Georgia

More than 73,000 square feet of state-of-the-art treatment rooms and technology is dedicated to the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer.
The Cancer Center has a multi-disciplinary team of expert medical oncologists, oncology nurses, pharmacists, and laboratory and social services professionals provides a wide range of hematology/oncology treatment for cancer patients and their families in Southwest Georgia.

Cutting-Edge Cancer Therapies at Phoebe’s Cancer Pavilion in Southwest Georgia
Phoebe Cancer Center provides streamlined treatment process, state-of-the-art technology and services, as well as patient convenience and accessibility to treatment areas. Special design features promote a pleasant, tranquil, healing environment for patients and visitors.

Phoebe Cancer Center in Albany, GA from TEAM DRAFT on Vimeo.

Dr. Silvestri is a Professor of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Silvestri completed his undergraduate education at Fairleigh Dickinson University, his medical degree at St. Georges University, a residency in internal medicine at the hospital of St. Raphaels/Yale University School of medicine and fellowship training at Dartmouth. He has an advanced degree in health services research, also from Dartmouth. He is a lung cancer and interventional pulmonologist. He is involved in every aspect of lung cancer care including screening, diagnosis, staging, treatment and palliation. Dr. Silvestri is a writer and editor of the ACCP lung cancer guidelines. He is the immediate past chair of the Thoracic Oncology network of the ACCP and the president of the American Association of Bronchology. Dr. Silvestri has authored over 100 scientific articles, book chapters and editorials. He has served on study sections at both the National Institute of Health and NCI pertaining to lung cancer and is on the data safety monitoring board of the national screening trial for Prostate, Lung, Colon and Ovarian Cancer (PLCO). He is associate editor of the journal Thorax. Dr. Silvestri is a grant funded researcher with a program project grant in screening for lung cancer with a program project grant in screening for lung cancer.

Gerard Silvestri, MD, MS —

Hossein Borghaei, DO
Director, Thoracic Medical Oncology
Co-Leader, Thoracic Cancer Service LIne
After completing my fellowship at Fox Chase, I joined the medical staff in 2004. I have a special interest in lung cancers. I believe in offering my patients the newest therapies available, which include antibodies and other immune-based therapies.
My laboratory research is focused on the production of monoclonal antibodies against novel targets in tumor blood vessels. These antibodies have the potential to be used in the treatment of several types of cancer. In addition, my other research interest is to learn how the body’s immune system plays a role in the fight against cancer.

We would like to thank Fox Chase Cancer Center , and Hossein Borghaei  for being a part of our National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer. Donate today to help us continue the campaign.

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – He tackled pro football players for 12 years, but former NFL linebacker Chris Draft is now battling a disease that took his love, and changed his life.

Draft is on the road again with “Team Draft,” determined to spread the word that lung cancer is one of the biggest killers out there and that it can affect anyone. Draft wanted to know all about the University of Colorado Cancer Center and CBS4′s Kathy Walsh went along.

Draft understands what it’s like to tackle cancer after the love of his life was taken by the disease. That was Keasha Rutledge. Draft met her in 2006 while he was a linebacker with the Carolina Panthers. She was an engineer and a dancer.

“Intelligent, intelligent woman; she actually graduated high school in three years,” Draft said.

In 2010, Draft retired and they were finally together.

“Two days before Christmas, her Christmas present was to find out she had a mass in her lung and then two days after they confirmed that it was cancer,” Draft said.

Keasha never smoked, yet she had Stage 4 lung cancer and was given only eight months to live — the fight was on.

“Radiation and chemo — and she was always smiling,” Draft said.

On Nov. 27, 2011, the pair got married. One month to the day later Keasha died.

The former pro is now teaming up with cancer centers across the country. He’s on a mission to change the face of lung cancer.

“The first thing they think is smoking, but the numbers are clear — between 15 and 20 percent are never smokers,” Draft said.

Draft points out lung cancer is the number one cancer killer. He shares Keasha’s story with patients whenever he can.

“That they can be energized regardless of how long they have, they are living.”

The University of Colorado Cancer Center was Draft’s 40th stop in his tour of top cancer centers in America. It’s also where doctors are finding success with medications made to match the genes of a particular lung cancer.

According to this article by Lynne Eldridge MD, lung cancer in never smokers is considered to be the 6th leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.
Take into consideration the two following facts: Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer, killing more people than colon, breast, kidney, liver, prostate and melanoma cancers combined. Secondly, tobacco smoking accounts for approximately 87 percent of lung cancer deaths.
Here is another statistic that may come as a shock to some: Tobacco usage, both past and present, accounts for approximately 80% of lung cancers in women. That means that 20% of women with lung cancer have never smoked. It makes you think twice about the stigma associated with lung cancer, doesn’t it?
Smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, asbestos, radon or other harmful carcinogens, a family history of lung cancer—all of these factors play a role in determining an individual’s personal lung cancer risk. It is important to take all of them into consideration, even if one is more prevalent than others.
Recognizing these risk factors is important; equally important, however, is the knowledge of how these factors impact your personal lung cancer risk, and taking charge to monitor your own personal risk.
According to data from the National Cancer Institute, the average five-year survival rate for a lung cancer patient is only 15%. If the cancer is caught in the later stages, after it has spread, that number can drop all the way down to 4%.
The key to fighting lung cancer is catching the disease in its earliest stages, when the five-year survival rate jumps to more than 50%.
We invite you to assess your personal lung cancer risk with this lung cancer risk calculator, developed with the help of clinicians from MD Anderson. Another available tool is the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center “Lung Cancer Prediction Tool,” which measures risk by taking various factors into account, including age, smoking history, gender and exposure to carcinogens.
By finding one’s propensity for lung cancer, people can get a feel for his or her potential for developing the disease before symptoms appear, and take precautionary action, such as seeing a physician, learning about various methods for early lung cancer detection, or taking action to lower try and lower your personal risk.
With the five-year survival rate so low and symptoms from the disease often not appearing until the late stages of the disease, there is a growing importance for early lung cancer detection methods—one of which is utilizing and understanding proper risk assessment tools.

Courtesy of Hello Have You Heard? Posted by Greg Stanley

Watch Dr. Keith Kelly discuss the value of early detection of lung cancer, how important it is to find lung cancer early, and how EarlyCDT-Lung may have impacted the life of a patient.

Thierry Jahan, M.D. is the one of the region’s foremost and highly regarded thoracic oncologists. Dr. Jahan has devoted his life to treating patients with lung cancer, mesothelioma and sarcoma. In addition to his keen clinical insight, Dr. Jahan is known by patients, their families and fellow clinicians for his sense of empathy and compassion. His commitment to wiping out lung cancer can be seen in the pins and ribbons that adorn his white coat, a message of hope he carries symbolically to patients as they battle a cruel disease.
Dr. Jahan received his M.D. from George Washington University. He completed his residency and an internal medicine fellowship at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at UCSF. In 1994, Dr. Jahan joined the UCSF faculty and later, with Dr. David M. Jablons, cofounded the Thoracic Oncology Program. Dr. Jahan currently holds the title of Associate Professor of Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine.
Dr. Jahan has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Medical House Staff Outstanding Teacher Award and Friend of the Palliative Care Service Award. He is also a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and the Association of Northern California Oncologists.
Dr. Jahan has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and research abstracts and lectured nationally and internationally on lung cancer and mesothelioma. The San Francisco Chronicle, Time Magazine and KPIX in San Francisco have each sought out his insights and observations on the clinical and human side of battling serious life-threatening cancers.
Research Summary
Dr. Jahan is Principal Investigator on numerous thoracic oncology clinical trials. He has a particular interest in testing target therapies in non-small cell lung cancer malignant mesothelioma as either single agents or in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiation. Respond and Donate Today!

David M. Jablons M.D., FACS is the Ada Distinguished Professor in Thoracic Oncology, Chief of General Thoracic Surgery, and Program Leader of Thoracic Oncology at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer. He also is Director of the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Lab.
Dr. Jablons received his medical degree from Albany Medical College of Union University New York. In his fourth year of medical school, he won a prestigious preceptorship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for clinical science training under Dr. Steven Rosenberg, a world-renowned surgical oncologist and tumor immunologist. This experience kindled his lifelong interest in translational science.
Dr. Jablons began his surgical residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. He then completed his surgical oncology fellowship at NCI, focusing on tumor immunology and immunotherapy. Dr. Jablons received his advanced cardiothoracic training as a fellow under Dr. Wayne Isom at Cornell Medical Center (now New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center), and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center under Dr. Robert Ginsburg. Dr. Jablons also trained with Dr. David Sugarbaker in lung transplantation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.
In 1994, while on active duty in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Jablons served as a commander and Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Naval Hospital at Oakland at Oak Knoll. In 1995, he was recruited by the UCSF Department of Surgery to build a world-class program in thoracic surgery and oncology. In 1997, Dr. Jablons was named Chief of General Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Jablons co-founded the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Conference, the oldest such program of its kind and was co-Chair of the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer in 2009. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Association for Cancer Research and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). Highly respected by his peers, Dr. Jablons was named to the list of U.S. News “America’s Top Doctors,” a distinction reserved for the top 1% of physicians in the nation for a given specialty.
Dr. Jablons was recently inducted into the American Surgical Society, the nation’s oldest most prestigious surgical organization with membership comprised of world-renowned surgeons from leading academic medical institutions including many Department of Surgery Chairs.
Research Summary
Soon after his arrival, Dr. Jablons recruited basic scientists Biao He, Ph.D., Zhidong Xu, Ph.D., and Liang You, Ph.D. to form the nucleus of the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory. Key areas of research include isolation of lung cancer stems cells, the Wnt pathway in lung cancer and mesothelioma, inflammation in carcinogenesis, and the underlying molecular biology of thoracic malignancies.
The lab recently added four new principal investigators Il-Jin Kim, Ph.D., Hassan Lemjabbar-Alaoui. Ph.D., Carlo C. Maley, Ph.D., and Minh To, Ph.D. creating a formidable research enterprise focused on drug target discovery, commercialization of novel therapeutics and development of genomic assays based on predictive and prognostic biomarkers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Runners and walkers were out at Park Road Park to help raise money for lung cancer research during the Free to Breathe event Saturday morning.

Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Chris Draft lost his wife to lung cancer last December and Saturday he was one of many to take part in the event.

“My wife passed away this past December after battling and tackling lung cancer for a year. This disease is terrible, she did not smoke, she was in great shape but lung cancer is a beast,” Draft said. “I had chance to speak to everyone before the race and thank them for being here.”

The event provides an opportunity for lung cancer advocates, survivors and the community to come together to raise awareness and support in the movement to defeat lung cancer.

All proceeds will benefit the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership’s research, education and awareness programs.