East Carolinian

Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: News

Media Credit: staff photo

Taylor Bell is an ECU student, and a survivor of lung cancer. She was diagnosed with a carcinoid tumor, and had to have her left lung removed. She commented that before her experience she didn't know that someone of her age, 22, could get lung cancer.

The month of November is dedicated to lung cancer awareness. Although most students are aware of the devastating and fatal effects of lung cancer, most students don't know much else about the disease.

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. These abnormal cells do not carry out the functions of normal cells and do not develop into healthy lung tissue. As they grow, the abnormal cells can form tumors and hinder the function of the lung, which is to provide oxygen to the body via the blood.

"Lung cancer runs in my family, so I had a little more information than most people about the disease," said Bell, a fourth year political science major. She has never smoked, yet believes that the same compassion should be shown to those who get lung cancer from smoking.

A common misconception is that smoking is the only way to get lung cancer. However there are several types of the disease.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80 percent of lung cancers. There are four types of NSCLC; Squamous cell carcinoma also called epidermoid carcinoma, the most common type of NSCLC. Bell survived her rare type of lung cancer, which was classified as non-small cell. It forms in the lining of the bronchial tubes and is the most common type of lung cancer in men.

The other type of lung cancer is small cell. SCLC accounts for about 20 percent of all lung cancer. The cells are small, and multiply quickly forming large tumors that can spread throughout the body. Smoking is almost always the cause of SCLC.

One of the most dangerous aspects of the disease is that there is no early detection method, in contrast to cancers like breast or colon cancer. This makes the disease one of the most deadly cancers.

"People need to advocate and educate," Bell said. This summer Bell will work in Washington, D.C. to lobby for lung cancer funding and research and hopes to become a lobbyist to further promote awareness about the disease.

Insurance companies do not pay for CT scans that may detect the disease, and because the cause is so under funded, awareness is crucial to helping prevent and treat the disease, Bell says. Lung cancer kills more than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined. Bell has become to some the "face" for lung cancer awareness at ECU, and has partnered with the National Lung Cancer Partnership as a spokesman and advocate.

For more information on how to get involved with the cause of lung cancer awareness, visit nationallungcancerpartnership.org.



This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.

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