Senator hoping to bring lung cancer study to his stateOmaha, Nebraska - Omaha Senator Bob Krist's father died of lung cancer in 2004. The cancer was linked to exposure to asbestos, a carcinogen which can cause both lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that may affect the lungs as well as other major organs and tissues. Now, Krist is hoping to translate his loss into a study that could benefit hundreds of Nebraskans at risk for developing lung cancer.
Krist is proposing that the state of Nebraska spend about $650,000 for further research into a simple test using sputum (mucus from the respiratory tract). It is hoped that this simple test might become a simple and effective early detection method for lung cancer.
When lung cancer is diagnosed early, the patient has a better chance of survival. In fact, 92 percent of patients diagnosed with early stage lung cancer are still alive five years after being diagnosed.
Krist's Bill calls for the use of 500 military veterans with a past history of smoking to volunteer for the study, which is being coordinated by the Eppley Cancer Center. Veterans, particularly older veterans, tend to have an increased risk of developing cancer, as they were often exposed to asbestos and other carcinogens while in the service. The funding needed to undertake the study would be roughly $650,000, which would be taken from the state's $310 million health care cash fund.
According to Dr. Rudy Lackner of the Eppley Cancer Center, only 15 percent of lung cancers are detected at an early stage because there simply is not a detection method that is both effective and inexpensive. According to local sources, "The five-year study will seek veterans older than 50 who had a 20-year past history of smoking, the equivalent of a pack a day for 20 years".
