{"id":131910,"date":"2024-11-30T22:27:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T15:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=131910"},"modified":"2024-11-30T22:27:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T15:27:48","slug":"lung-cancer-is-the-leading-cause-of-cancer-deaths-here-in-florida-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=131910","title":{"rendered":"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths here in Florida. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"\">Sherrie Smyth had a feeling something was wrong. For several months, she suffered shortness of breath.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">After her cardiologist found nothing unusual, she tried an allergist. \u201cI was 57, and the allergist told me I had adult-onset asthma,\u201d said Smyth, a Miami mother of a teenager.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Although she accepted an inhaler, she also requested an X-ray of her chest. When the results showed an abnormality in her right lung, the allergist prescribed antibiotics. Still short of breath, she went to a pulmonologist and learned through a CT scan that the abnormality was a large mass. An immediate full-body PET scan showed she had stage 4, inoperable lung cancer that had spread to her adrenal glands and brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI am a big believer in early screening and advocating for yourself,\u201d Smyth said. \u201cIf I had stopped at adult-onset asthma, I would be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Floridians are at high risk for lung cancer, and many are waiting too long to get screened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The 2024 American Lung Association\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lung.org\/research\/state-of-lung-cancer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of Lung Cancer<\/a>\u201d report, released Nov. 19, reveals that lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in Florida. The more localized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lung.org\/research\/state-of-lung-cancer\/states\/florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">state report<\/a> shows only a quarter of Floridians with lung cancer get diagnosed early, which lowers their five-year survival rate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWith lung cancer, the symptoms can be masked as a common cold,\u201d said Ashley Lyerly, Senior Advocacy Director at the American Lung Association. \u201cThat\u2019s why we need to increase screenings, to find it early.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Miami oncologist <a href=\"https:\/\/doctors.umiamihealth.org\/provider\/estelamari-rodriguez\/1257821\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Estelamari Rodriguez<\/a> says several factors contribute to Florida\u2019s lung cancer toll: The population is older, the screening rate is low and people relocate to the state from countries where smoking is prevalent. Florida\u2019s large Hispanic population may be a factor, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cNationally, the lung cancer rates for Hispanics are highest of the ethnic groups,\u201d said Rodriguez, a thoracic medical oncologist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System. Hispanics also are less likely to receive treatment. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s insurance problems or stigma, but they are less likely to seek care.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Getting screened is getting easier<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">Lung cancer diagnosis usually starts with an imaging test called a low-dose CT scan to look at the lungs. The report shows that only about 15% of at-risk people get screened in Florida. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 64% when the cancer is detected early, but only 9% for late-stage lung cancer. Early treatment often is surgery to remove the cancer in the lung before it spreads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Smoking is a well-known risk factor for lung cancer. Although adult smoking rates in Florida are 11%, slightly below the national average, youth vaping in Florida has increased over the past few years, according to Tobacco Free Florida.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh article start my-32\">\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh__content\">\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh__stage--start\">\n<h2 class=\"fXDgxBh__headline\">Keep up with Tampa Bay\u2019s top headlines<\/h2>\n<p class=\"fXDgxBh__subheadline\">Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>We\u2019ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fXDgxBh__stage--finish\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 25\" class=\"fXDgxBh__success-icon\"><path d=\"M9.6 18.326L3.6 12.326L5.292 10.622L9.6 14.93L18.708 5.82205L20.4 7.52605L9.6 18.326ZM12 0.32605C10.4241 0.32605 8.86371 0.636439 7.4078 1.2395C5.95189 1.84255 4.62902 2.72647 3.51472 3.84077C1.26428 6.09121 0 9.14345 0 12.326C0 15.5086 1.26428 18.5609 3.51472 20.8113C4.62902 21.9256 5.95189 22.8095 7.4078 23.4126C8.86371 24.0157 10.4241 24.326 12 24.326C15.1826 24.326 18.2348 23.0618 20.4853 20.8113C22.7357 18.5609 24 15.5086 24 12.326C24 10.7502 23.6896 9.18976 23.0866 7.73385C22.4835 6.27794 21.5996 4.95507 20.4853 3.84077C19.371 2.72647 18.0481 1.84255 16.5922 1.2395C15.1363 0.636439 13.5759 0.32605 12 0.32605Z\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"fXDgxBh__headline\">You\u2019re all signed\u00a0up!<\/h2>\n<p class=\"fXDgxBh__blurb\">Want more of our free, weekly newsletters\u00a0in\u00a0your\u00a0inbox?<!-- --> <strong>Let\u2019s\u00a0get\u00a0started.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/newsletters\/\" class=\"ui__button--call-to-action\" data-tbtevent=\"link\" data-tbtcategory=\"Newsletter Sign Up Form\" data-tbtlabel=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;All newsletters link&quot;}\">Explore all your options<svg viewbox=\"0 0 19 19\" class=\"fXDgxBh__link-icon\"><path d=\"M18.2334 9.32605C18.2334 11.713 17.2852 14.0022 15.5974 15.69C13.9095 17.3778 11.6203 18.326 9.2334 18.326C8.0515 18.326 6.88118 18.0933 5.78925 17.641C4.69732 17.1887 3.70516 16.5257 2.86944 15.69C1.18161 14.0022 0.233398 11.713 0.233398 9.32605C0.233398 6.9391 1.18161 4.64992 2.86944 2.96209C4.55726 1.27426 6.84645 0.32605 9.2334 0.32605C10.4153 0.32605 11.5856 0.558842 12.6775 1.01113C13.7695 1.46343 14.7616 2.12636 15.5974 2.96209C16.4331 3.79782 17.096 4.78997 17.5483 5.8819C18.0006 6.97383 18.2334 8.14415 18.2334 9.32605ZM3.8334 10.226H11.0334L7.8834 13.376L9.1614 14.654L14.4894 9.32605L9.1614 3.99805L7.8834 5.27605L11.0334 8.42605H3.8334V10.226Z\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\">The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend annual lung cancer screening for anyone 50 to 80 years old who has a heavy smoking history, currently smokes or has quit within the past 15 years. Other risks are a family history of lung cancer or radon exposure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Lately, researchers have seen an alarming increase in the number of women ages 55 and younger being diagnosed with lung cancer, and no one yet knows why.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Rodriguez doesn\u2019t understand why more people are willing to do a colonoscopy for colon cancer than a CT scan for lung cancer, which is a much simpler test.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cPeople are presenting to me with advanced disease,\u201d said Rodriguez at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. \u201cMaybe they don\u2019t recognize the symptoms, which are shortness of breath, back pain and cough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Some Florida hospitals, such as Moffitt Cancer Center in Pasco County, are entering communities with new mobile lung screening units. And Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is allowing anyone at risk to schedule a CT scan without seeing a physician first.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Across the state, a coalition of health organizations is offering eligible primary-care patients the FirstLook Lung blood test to aid in early detection. If the test returns \u201cElevated,\u201d the individual gets referred for a CT scan.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">New treatments for lung cancer<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">In an advancement, Florida oncologists are using biomarker testing to create a personalized treatment plan with fewer side effects. A new Florida law requires Medicaid and state employee health insurance plans to cover biomarker testing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Smyth said the specialists at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Cancer performed biomarker testing and developed her treatment plan of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The four-drug therapy included medications new to the market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Smyth will receive the last of her 24 treatments on Dec. 12, 20 months after her first infusion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI am a strong individual, and I have maintained a completely normal existence,\u201d Smyth said. \u201cAfter my last scan, my doctor told me there is no evidence of disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Smyth wants others to get screened and, if necessary, treated for lung cancer. The new Florida research shows the state is above the national average for people diagnosed who don\u2019t get treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cIt is no longer a death sentence to be told you have cancer,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are so many treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h1\">Florida hospitals are using robots<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\">At Delray Medical Center, after a lung nodule shows up on a CT scan, specialists use a robot to biopsy it, regardless of its size or location within the lobe. Even a nodule the size of a Cheerio can be biopsied. They can also use a specialized scope to learn whether the lung cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWith this advanced biopsy procedure, we are able to diagnose patients earlier to get them to treatment faster,\u201d said Stephen Milan, an advanced bronchoscopist and pulmonologist at Delray Medical Center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">At Baptist Health in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, specialists are using robots and technology in three ways, said Manmeet Singh Ahluwalia, chief scientific officer and chief of Medical Oncology Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida. They are using robots to help remove lung cancer during surgeries. They are using artificial intelligence with X-rays to determine when lung cancer tumors are malignant or benign. And when a CT scan looks suspicious, they use special blood tests to find DNA fragments that indicate if a nodule is cancerous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWe are using technology in all these ways for better detection and treatment, &#8221; Ahluwalia said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Aware that screening rates are low, he wants to use these new blood tests to screen those at high risk in South Florida communities in near future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">This 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lung.org\/research\/state-of-lung-cancer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of Lung Cancer report<\/a> highlights an area of progress: Nationally, the lung cancer survival rate has improved 26% in the last five years. \u201cIt\u2019s an improvement but we still have a long way to go,\u201d said Lyerly of the American Lung Association. \u201cNow that we have better treatment for advanced disease, we need to detect it earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/health\/2024\/11\/30\/lung-cancer-is-leading-cause-cancer-deaths-here-florida-heres-why\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sherrie Smyth had a feeling something was wrong. For several months, she suffered shortness of breath. After her cardiologist found nothing unusual, she tried an allergist. \u201cI was 57, and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=131910\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=131910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=131910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=131910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=131910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}