I started smoking when I was in college, which was a while ago. With my wife, I
quit smoking 10 years ago. But, that was after more than 35 years of smoking and
smoking pretty heavily, two, three packs a day. I smoked more than he did, 38 years,
three packs a day. And, I was almost a chain smoker. We quit simultaneously. But
after 35 years, apparently, it took a toll. A little more than three years ago, I was
diagnosed with lung cancer. I was very fortunate to have gotten an early
diagnosis so that it was operable. And the surgery was in February of 2011. It
worked. And since the surgery, I've had nine scans now at Georgetown's Lombardi
Center, each of them has shown no evidence of disease. Down the line when
he was in for a scan, I met a nurse who said we're doing these scans, these low
dose scans for smokers of a certain you know length the time or whatever. And she
convinced me that I should have this scan. Unfortunately, I did have the scan,
and I had just a little something there that they questioned. So, they're calling
me back for another. So, I'm going back tomorrow to have that scan.
The scan is important. This is one thing people can do to catch things before
it's too late. Hopefully, everything will be fine. Hopefully, everything will be fine
for my husband. And I will do this as long as they ask me to do it. I want to
be helpful, and I want to be cancer free. Lung cancer is the beast of all the
cancers. There are more cancer deaths in the United States from lung cancer than
there are from colorectal, breast, prostate, and pancreas cancers combined.
The CT scan is performed as an outpatient and takes only 15 minutes.
There is a minimal charge for the patient's CT scan. And if an abnormality
is found, we have a multidisciplinary group of doctors that will be ready to take
care of these results. CT screening for lung cancer is recommended for patients
who are over age 55 and who have at least a 30 year history of smoking up to
1 pack a day. Patients who have smoked 15 years, two packs a day would also be
eligible. They showed me the screen, and they pointed to what they had seen six
months previous. And it had not grown ,and they weren't concerned. So, I don't need
to come back again for a year. So, I'm very happy about that. Looked positively
benign didn't it? Yes, yes, yes. For me, it was all clear, no sign of
disease, which is good news. But you can't take it for granted. I don't. When we were
happy to get the news. I've been pleased from the beginning with Georgetown. And
when they talked to me, they talked English so that I could understand what
they were trying to say. They showed real concern, and they showed real expertise.
Lung cancer takes a hundred and sixty thousand people a year. That's a lot of
preventable deaths if people get an earlier diagnosis. You know if you have
no symptoms, that doesn't mean that you're free and clear. You can't play
that game with yourself. We're so blessed, 22 grandchildren. I want to go to every
graduation. I want to dance at their weddings. It really seems to be a
no-brainer. The people with heavy smoking histories ought to take the time to get
the screening scan just to get the peace of mind.