The State of Wisconsin is right about in the middle of the pack according to the latest State of Lung Cancer report issued today. We spoke with Donna Wininsky of the American Lung Association, who explained that as far as new cases per year, things are getting better.
“We do know that even with the new cases we have, which is about 4,300 on average per year, that rate is actually improving a little bit at a time,” she explained. “[That is] probably because we continue to successfully drive down the smoking rate. Smoking is always the number one indicator for lung cancer.”
Wininsky said they are trying to lower the smoking rate in several ways.
“We do everything in our power to educate the public, educate kids in particular that they don’t start smoking, and don’t get on that path of a lifetime of addiction,” Wininsky told SeehaferNews.com. As for those who have already started smoking, “We work very closely with medical professionals to help people quit. We offer smoking cessation programs.”
The survival rate for lung cancer in Wisconsin is currently under 25%, and Wininsky says there is a good reason for that. She explained that “lung cancer is one of those diseases that frequently doesn’t get diagnosed until it’s in later stages. It has spread to other organs in the body, so it can’t be treated with surgery, and the treatments have to be more aggressive, so the survival rates are lower.”
As for why the disease isn’t caught right away, Wininsky said “Some people have very obvious symptoms and they do see their doctor, but in some cases, too many, unfortunately, the symptoms don’t even present themselves, or they are not obvious symptoms that somebody would automatically associate with lung cancer.”
Most people know about the obvious symptoms, such as coughing, chest pain, and shortness of breath, but back pain, feeling tired all the time, and sudden weight loss are also major symptoms.
For more information on lung cancer, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872), or visit Lung.org.
