November 2018 Articles
Coping with COPD and Anxiety
With symptoms like shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, it’s easy to understand why anxiety is common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Anxiety can bring up feelings of nervousness and fear, and even physical symptoms which can impact day-to-day life. Identifying, understanding and managing anxiety is important for people living with COPD. Especially since this connection between anxiety and COPD is associated with more severe COPD symptoms, increased use of healthcare, more hospitalizations and need for treatment.Related Topic: Health & WellnessMiss Pennsylvania Encourages Flu Protection for Communities throughout Pennsylvania
As a nursing student at the University of Alabama last year, I was in shock when I found out the number of students who were reluctant to get the flu vaccine. There seemed to be so many misconceptions about it. To help combat those flu myths, I decided to hold a flu shot clinic on campus—allowing students to get their flu shot for free. It was a great success with 300 people coming by the clinic, and the opportunity to have some much-needed conversations with my fellow students was tremendous. This year, I have been able to team up with the American Lung Association to help raise even more awareness of the importance of the influenza vaccine and help dispel some of those myths.Related Topic: Health & Wellness20th Anniversary of Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
Twenty years ago, four major tobacco companies settled a court case with 46 states and the District of Columbia. The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) remains the largest civil settlement in U.S. history, and as a result, kids are better protected from tobacco marketing (see you later Joe Camel!). The funding from the settlement was intended to be allocated to lifesaving tobacco control efforts in states, not just when the agreement was signed, but through annual payments by the tobacco companies to the states forever due to the death and disease their products cause.Related Topic: Tobacco & SmokingTumor Testing Can Open the Door for New Lung Cancer Treatments
Fast and furious. That is an accurate way to categorize the progress that has been made in personalized (or precision) medicine in lung cancer over the past several years. For decades, lung cancer was treated with a one-size-fits-all approach. But now, scientists are learning more about what makes up cancer tumors and causes them to grow, opening the door for treatment tailored to patients’ unique needs.The Connection Between Pneumonia and Lung Disease
Our bodies have built-in security systems. For instance, your nose and airways filter germs out of the air you breathe, which help keep your lungs from becoming infected. But there are times when germs find a way to enter the lungs and cause infections.Related Topic: Health & WellnessLung Cancer Screening: A Simple Way to Save Lives
What if we could save 25,000 lives with a simple screening? We can. Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cancer killer of both men and women, accounting for 25 percent of total cancer deaths in the United States. Unfortunately, less than 5 percent of those recommended to undergo lung cancer screening (LCS) for early detection have done so.Lung Cancer: Not What You Think
Many of us know lung cancer statistics far too well. We have witnessed them firsthand and have lost far too many people to this devastating disease. But others may not know that lung cancer is the leading cancer killer, taking more than 400 of our friends and family members every single day in this country alone.
Page Last Updated: January 10, 2020