Lung cancer is caused by damaged cells in the lungs. Common culprits are cigarette smoke and radon gas. It is important for those at risk to be screened for lung cancer.
Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, oncologist and hematologist, discusses lung cancer risk and screening procedure.
Selected Podcast
Lung Cancer and Early Detection Screening
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Learn more about Jeffrey Gordon, MD
Jeffrey Gordon, MD
Jeffrey Gordon, MD received his medical degree from Brandeis University in Waltham and completed his fellowship in oncology and hematology at University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He also completed his residency and internship in internal medicine from University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.Learn more about Jeffrey Gordon, MD
Transcription:
Prakash Chandran (Host): Today we're going to be talking about lung cancer and early detection screening. Now so many of us are connected to, or know someone with this disease, and it's especially relevant in my life, since I just had a close friend whose father recently passed of lung cancer. So hopefully with the information we learn today around early detection, we can mitigate some of this, and here to educate us today is Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, a specialist in hematology and oncology at Harrington Healthcare. Dr. Gordon, thanks so much for being here today.
Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, MD (Guest): Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Prakash: Great, so to start off, I think most of us correlate smoking with lung cancer, but it's probably not the only cause. So maybe shed some light onto the most common causes of lung cancer.
Dr. Gordon: Well by far the most common cause of lung cancer is cigarette smoking. I list it as the top ten reasons people can get lung cancer, and a distant second reason is radon exposure, depending upon what part of the country you live in.
Prakash: And for those who don't know what radon is, can you explain what that is and where they might get exposed to it?
Dr. Gordon: Radon is a substance that's usually in the ground. Different parts of the country have different levels of it. It's naturally occurring, and it can get into the air usually in a basement, rare it gets into the water, and over time being exposed to it, breathing it in, can increase the risk of lung cancer. That risk isn't great, but it can occur, and that's why in some parts of the country, if you live in an area where there's radon exposure - and every state has a database on it - you can actually take steps to 100% mitigate it and get rid of that risk.
Prakash: So it's a good idea to maybe check with your local city or the government to see if there is potential radon exposure just so you can be aware of it and stay away from it. That's a good first preventative step, would you say?
Dr. Gordon: It is, and I believe every state in their Public Health Department maintains the database on it, and if you just call your Public Health Department, they can readily help you figure things out.
Prakash: Okay, so let's talk a little bit about this early detection screening. Tell us a little bit about how it works.
Dr. Gordon: Well, the way it works is we use a CAT scan that looks at the lung, it's what we call low dose so you get very, very minimal radiation exposure, much less than you would if you had a regular CAT scan done, and it takes pretty rapidly slight images of your lung, and on the computer we can actually see how your lung works, and we can see if there's any spots or abnormalities that shouldn't be there, and we can actually see these spots down to very low levels- very, very small spots, and it's designed to see what's going on in your lungs that you may not even know about, and that's why we do it as a screening test in some people so we can pick things up before it gets worse and they start having problems from it.
Prakash: So who is this for? Like who should be coming in to get this screening, and when should they be looking for it?
Dr. Gordon: Well there are pretty much standardized established checklists that we look at. It's not for everybody. Right now the guidelines will say if you're between the age of fifty to seventy-seven, or fifty-five to seventy-seven, consider getting the screening provided that you are a cigarette smoker, or you have a history of cigarette smoking that is at least thirty pack years, and your doctor can calculate that, and you also had to have quit within fifteen years. So it's not for somebody who quit fifty years ago. So this age and amount of cigarette smoking criteria we look at, and if you do meet those criteria, then the screening is indeed something we recommend for you.
Prakash: Yeah, so it seems like if you have had that history of smoking, and you are of the ages between fifty-five and seventy, it makes sense to get a screening. How about secondhand smoke? Like for example, let's say you had a member of the family that smoked a lot but you didn't smoke directly, is that still something worth going to get a screening for?
Dr. Gordon: Well actually, many times lung cancer will appear, and you may not even know it until it's advanced, and that's why we try to do the screening because most of the time that lung cancer is there, you're not feeling it, you're not even aware of it until unfortunately it's too late. Breathing problems can be common, different pains in the chest that don't go away, loss of appetite, loss of energy level, coughing up of blood or coughing bouts that don't go away. And also it's not uncommon that people are treated with antibiotics for a possible pneumonia or an infection, and the antibiotics don't help, and you're still having problems, and then we have to go and take a look to see what's going on. But again, that's usually when it's advanced stage. We want to pick it up when it's early so we can really do a lot about it and get rid of it.
Prakash: You know, I think there's a lot of people that might be scared to get this type of screening. Can you talk a little bit about if it's dangerous? Are there any risks? Maybe try to alleviate some of that concern.
Dr. Gordon: It's definitely not dangerous. The radiation exposure from this type of CAT scan is very, very small, and you're lying on your back on a table, and the machine is like an open donut so it's not all closed in, there's no claustrophobia or anxiety, and the machine very rapidly - I think it's like ten or fifteen minutes - takes the pictures and then it's done. So it's very easy, very simple to do. What people really need to do is talk with their doctors to see if this type of screening is right for them, but they shouldn't worry about risks from it, or discomfort from it, or having to spend a lot of time getting it done.
Prakash: Well this has been really informative, Dr. Gordon. I think we have a much better sense for how to stay ahead of this disease in screening. For more information, please visit www.HarringtonHospital.org. Our guest today has been Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, and this is Healthy Takeout from Harrington Healthcare. I'm Prakash Chandran, thank you for listening.
Prakash Chandran (Host): Today we're going to be talking about lung cancer and early detection screening. Now so many of us are connected to, or know someone with this disease, and it's especially relevant in my life, since I just had a close friend whose father recently passed of lung cancer. So hopefully with the information we learn today around early detection, we can mitigate some of this, and here to educate us today is Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, a specialist in hematology and oncology at Harrington Healthcare. Dr. Gordon, thanks so much for being here today.
Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, MD (Guest): Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Prakash: Great, so to start off, I think most of us correlate smoking with lung cancer, but it's probably not the only cause. So maybe shed some light onto the most common causes of lung cancer.
Dr. Gordon: Well by far the most common cause of lung cancer is cigarette smoking. I list it as the top ten reasons people can get lung cancer, and a distant second reason is radon exposure, depending upon what part of the country you live in.
Prakash: And for those who don't know what radon is, can you explain what that is and where they might get exposed to it?
Dr. Gordon: Radon is a substance that's usually in the ground. Different parts of the country have different levels of it. It's naturally occurring, and it can get into the air usually in a basement, rare it gets into the water, and over time being exposed to it, breathing it in, can increase the risk of lung cancer. That risk isn't great, but it can occur, and that's why in some parts of the country, if you live in an area where there's radon exposure - and every state has a database on it - you can actually take steps to 100% mitigate it and get rid of that risk.
Prakash: So it's a good idea to maybe check with your local city or the government to see if there is potential radon exposure just so you can be aware of it and stay away from it. That's a good first preventative step, would you say?
Dr. Gordon: It is, and I believe every state in their Public Health Department maintains the database on it, and if you just call your Public Health Department, they can readily help you figure things out.
Prakash: Okay, so let's talk a little bit about this early detection screening. Tell us a little bit about how it works.
Dr. Gordon: Well, the way it works is we use a CAT scan that looks at the lung, it's what we call low dose so you get very, very minimal radiation exposure, much less than you would if you had a regular CAT scan done, and it takes pretty rapidly slight images of your lung, and on the computer we can actually see how your lung works, and we can see if there's any spots or abnormalities that shouldn't be there, and we can actually see these spots down to very low levels- very, very small spots, and it's designed to see what's going on in your lungs that you may not even know about, and that's why we do it as a screening test in some people so we can pick things up before it gets worse and they start having problems from it.
Prakash: So who is this for? Like who should be coming in to get this screening, and when should they be looking for it?
Dr. Gordon: Well there are pretty much standardized established checklists that we look at. It's not for everybody. Right now the guidelines will say if you're between the age of fifty to seventy-seven, or fifty-five to seventy-seven, consider getting the screening provided that you are a cigarette smoker, or you have a history of cigarette smoking that is at least thirty pack years, and your doctor can calculate that, and you also had to have quit within fifteen years. So it's not for somebody who quit fifty years ago. So this age and amount of cigarette smoking criteria we look at, and if you do meet those criteria, then the screening is indeed something we recommend for you.
Prakash: Yeah, so it seems like if you have had that history of smoking, and you are of the ages between fifty-five and seventy, it makes sense to get a screening. How about secondhand smoke? Like for example, let's say you had a member of the family that smoked a lot but you didn't smoke directly, is that still something worth going to get a screening for?
Dr. Gordon: Well actually, many times lung cancer will appear, and you may not even know it until it's advanced, and that's why we try to do the screening because most of the time that lung cancer is there, you're not feeling it, you're not even aware of it until unfortunately it's too late. Breathing problems can be common, different pains in the chest that don't go away, loss of appetite, loss of energy level, coughing up of blood or coughing bouts that don't go away. And also it's not uncommon that people are treated with antibiotics for a possible pneumonia or an infection, and the antibiotics don't help, and you're still having problems, and then we have to go and take a look to see what's going on. But again, that's usually when it's advanced stage. We want to pick it up when it's early so we can really do a lot about it and get rid of it.
Prakash: You know, I think there's a lot of people that might be scared to get this type of screening. Can you talk a little bit about if it's dangerous? Are there any risks? Maybe try to alleviate some of that concern.
Dr. Gordon: It's definitely not dangerous. The radiation exposure from this type of CAT scan is very, very small, and you're lying on your back on a table, and the machine is like an open donut so it's not all closed in, there's no claustrophobia or anxiety, and the machine very rapidly - I think it's like ten or fifteen minutes - takes the pictures and then it's done. So it's very easy, very simple to do. What people really need to do is talk with their doctors to see if this type of screening is right for them, but they shouldn't worry about risks from it, or discomfort from it, or having to spend a lot of time getting it done.
Prakash: Well this has been really informative, Dr. Gordon. I think we have a much better sense for how to stay ahead of this disease in screening. For more information, please visit www.HarringtonHospital.org. Our guest today has been Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, and this is Healthy Takeout from Harrington Healthcare. I'm Prakash Chandran, thank you for listening.