Briar! I thought I was the only one left in here tonight.
"They" already started on Obesity! It's horrible!
Posted on 09/19/2002 7:15:48 AM PDT by SheLion
Fifty Thousand Current and Former Smokers Needed For National Lung Screening Trial
Wednesday September 18, 1:00 pm ET
BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Cancer Institute (NCI) today launched a new study to determine if screening people with either spiral computerized tomography (CT) or chest X-ray before they have symptoms can reduce deaths from lung cancer. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) will enroll 50,000 current or former smokers and will take place at a total of 30 sites throughout the United States.
To carry out the trial, NCI is using two research networks funded by the Institute: one network has been conducting the lung screening study called the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, and the other is the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), a network of researchers who conduct imaging studies. In addition, NCI is collaborating with the American Cancer Society to organize grassroots recruitment efforts at NLST sites.
"NLST is important because there an estimated 90 million current and former smokers in the United States at high risk for lung cancer, and death rates for this disease, unlike many other cancers, have not declined," said NLST co-director John Gohagan, Ph.D., of NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention. "Lung cancer kills more people than cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, and pancreas combined and will claim nearly 155,000 lives this year. Our hope is that this study will lead to saving lives."
To help ensure that NLST reaches full enrollment quickly, the American Cancer Society will support NCI with targeted promotional and outreach efforts in communities surrounding the trial sites.
"Reducing lung cancer deaths is a high priority of the American Cancer Society," said Harmon Eyre, M.D., chief medical officer and executive vice president for research and cancer control of the American Cancer Society. "With a recognized commitment to saving lives from cancer, and a trusted local presence near each of the NLST sites, the Society is uniquely positioned to communicate the benefits of the trial, build trust in eligible participants, and help NCI reach full enrollment as soon as possible."
The trial is a randomized, controlled study -- the "gold standard" of research studies. Study participants will be randomly assigned -- designated by chance -- to receive either a chest X-ray or a spiral CT once a year for three years. Researchers will continue to contact participants annually to monitor their health until 2009.
When detected, lung cancer has usually spread outside the lung in 15 percent to 30 percent of cases. Spiral CT can pick up tumors well under 1 centimeter (cm) in size, while chest X-rays detect tumors about 1 to 2 cm in size.
"Conventional wisdom suggests that the smaller the tumor when it is found, the more likely the chance of survival -- but that remains to be proven," said ACRIN researcher and NLST co-director Denise Aberle, M.D., from the University of California Los Angeles. "Because of the number of individuals participating and because it is a randomized, controlled trial, NLST will be able to provide the evidence needed to determine whether spiral CT scans are better than chest X-rays at reducing a person's chances of dying from lung cancer."
Spiral CT, a technology introduced in the 1990s, uses X-rays to scan the entire chest in about 15 to 25 seconds, during a single breath hold. A computer creates images from the scan, assembling them into a 3-dimensional model of the lungs. More than half of the hospitals in the United States own a spiral CT machine and routinely use them for staging lung and other cancers -- that is, determining how advanced the cancer is after diagnosis. Recently some hospitals have begun performing spiral CT scans as a new way to find early lung cancer in smokers and former smokers. However, no scientific evidence to date has shown that screening or early detection of lung cancer with either spiral CT or chest X-rays actually saves lives.
In addition to the lung cancer screenings, some NLST centers will collect blood, urine, and sputum. These samples will be used for future research to test for biomarkers that may someday help doctors better diagnose lung cancer.
Participants in NLST will receive lung cancer screenings free of charge. Men and women can participate in NLST if they meet the following requirements:
* Are current or former smokers ages 55 to 74
* Have never had lung cancer and have not had any cancer within the
last five years (except some skin cancers or in situ cancers)
* Are not currently enrolled in any other cancer screening or cancer
prevention trial
* Have not had a CT scan of the chest or lungs within the last 18
months.
Additionally, participants can receive referrals to smoking cessation programs if they are interested in quitting smoking.
For more information about NLST and to find the center nearest you:
* Call the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service
toll-free, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at
1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) for information in English or
Spanish. The number for callers with TTY equipment is
1-800-332-8615.
* Log on to cancer.gov/NLST.
Additional materials related to NLST include:
National Lung Screening Trial Questions and Answers at http://newscenter.cancer.gov/pressreleases/NLSTQA.html
An interview with NLST scientists, a video news release on the launch of the trial, photos, stills, audio clips, and other materials related to NLST at http://newscenter.cancer.gov/BenchMarks/
The National Cancer Institute is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
For more information about cancer, visit NCI's Web site at http://cancer.gov .
Source: National Cancer Institute
The government will never outlaw tobacco. Too much tax money involved. Like gambling (state lottery), the government is more than happy to oblige people destroying their lives with their addictions.
Briar! I thought I was the only one left in here tonight.
"They" already started on Obesity! It's horrible!
I wish to God my grandpa could have done the same. I miss him. My grandmother has suffered with emphysema for many years and never smoked. She did live with a heavy smoker for over 50 years, however.
When "they" cure death, I might stop smoking.
My mother-in-law quit 10 years ago (also cold turkey). She still longs for one. And she said it's all BS about food tasting better and you can smell better when you don't smoke. She said she doesn't notice nothing different.
My Dr. pushes me every year to get a mammogram. Last year, he really shook his finger in my face because I had turned 46 and had never had one. I stopped him in the middle of this tirade and said, "You know what? This is MY body, MY money and MY decision NOT to have this done." "There is no history of cancer in either side of my family, so there is no reason to be concerned. I do my own checks and know my body. If something changes, you'll be the first to know.....OKAY?" He very put out, but relented with the attitude, "Don't blame me if it happens". SIGH.
This same Dr. nagged me about quitting smoking, for years. I finally caved and let him give me the latest pill, "Zyban". It made me violently ill. When I called to tell him, he said, "Oh, just give it a few more days." I tossed them in the trash. I got the chewing of my life a few weeks later and was TOLD I would try something else. I told him that the smoking didn't bother ME as much as it bothered HIM and if I decided to quit.....I'd do it on my own, thankyouverymuch. He's really a good Doc in every other respect, but totally brain-washed by the drug companies. Needless to say, we argue alot. *chuckle*
I got on the "I want to quit" faze a few years ago. I ask my Doctor about Zyban. He told me "Do it on your own. Don't take none of those drugs." Now, that's an honest Doctor. Don't find many of them around anymore.
I gave up my pipe about a year and a half ago.
I dearly loved it, but I could tell that it wasn't doing me any good.
Quitting is tough, but it IS do-able.
Well...... you are right, I turn 68 in early October. :-} husband is 70, and his last check-up was fine as well.
HEHEH, I told my doctor, if a mans penis had to go into that contraption, they would have made sure it didn't hurt.
LOL, Me too, seems there is a lot of that going on.
Ayn Rand is rolling over in her grave.
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