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Want more information about lung cancer prevention sent to your door? Go to
askAAMC.org/magazine
and request our
Lung Cancer
magazine.
The Lowdown on Lungs
The Thoracic Oncology Program at the
DeCesaris Cancer Institute provides the
most advanced early detection, diagnosis
and treatment available for lung cancer.
Our team is dedicated to providing you
with individual treatment plans that
eliminate unnecessary procedures and
delays when it matters most.
Read and watch
Thoracic
Surgeon Stephen
Cattaneo, M.D.,
talks about early
detection for
lung cancer.
When Yvette Garity,
of Edgewater,
enrolled in the
smoking cessation
program at AAMC,
she was just looking
for help kicking a
very stubborn 42-year-old habit. She
had no idea it would save her life. Her
story and more are now online.
More cancer survivor stories
and videos are now online. Visit
askAAMC.org/living
to see more.
Your daily dose from AAMC @
youtube.com/AAMCnews
Lung Screening
Saves
Lives
When Patricia Markel began regular
lung screening in 2006, she thought it
would be a great way to see how her lungs
had improved after she quit smoking.
As it turns out, it saved the 62-year-
old Crownsville woman’s life. Eighteen
months after she stopped smoking,
Markel awoke with pain in her jaw and
tightness in her chest. Thinking she could
be having a heart attack, she went to the
emergency room at AAMC.
Tests showed that her heart was fine—
her symptoms had been a false alarm.
But x-rays of her chest showed something
frightening—a shadow that hadn’t been
there six months ago. Doctors ordered a
CT Scan and soon diagnosed Markel with
stage I lung cancer.
The oncologist met with her that
morning, and within five days she was
in surgery.
“I had no symptoms of lung cancer,”
she says. “Had they not had those earlier
“It’s so important to have that baseline.
Without that, the doctors might not have
recognized a change in my lungs. They
might not have found the cancer early
enough. I’m here today because of that
early detection.”
—Patricia Markel,
Crownsville, Md.
images to compare, they might not have
caught it soon enough.”
Because lung cancer causes no symptoms
in the early stages, most people are
not diagnosed until much later, when
treatment is more difficult and survivorship
rates are lower. Regular screening with
CT Scans can detect lung cancer early.
And early detection saves lives.
Markel tells smokers with a family
history of lung cancer to ask their doctor if
screening is appropriate for them. When it
is, she encourages them to heed the advice.
“It’s so important to have that
screening,” Markel says. “I’m alive today
because this was found at stage I.”
For more information about the
AAMC Lung Screening Program,
visit
askAAMC.org/LungScreening
or call
443-481-5838
.
Your daily dose from AAMC:
AAMC Welcomes
Dr. Meneshian
The AAMC Thoracic
Oncology Program
welcomes thoracic
surgeon Avedis
Meneshian, M.D.
Dr. Meneshian’s
focus is surgery for lung and esophageal
cancer and benign disorders of the
chest with an emphasis on innovative
minimally invasive and robotic
surgery approaches.
Patricia Markel
and husband
Dale enjoy
spending time
with their Cavalier
King Charles
Spaniel, Mindy.