By Julie Cerney
“Catching cancer early makes such a difference! I have become a true believer in early screening.”
Jean Copeland, 58, is an upbeat dynamo who is spreading the word about lung cancer detection. Speaking candidly about her own diagnosis of Stage IA lung cancer in March 2008, Jean emphasizes how fortunate she feels.
“Because my cancer was caught before any lymph node involvement, I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation therapy,” Jean explains. “I only lost a lobe of one lung — and, yes, I am thrilled to say only!”
Jean considers the early diagnosis and surgical intervention lifesaving, and she credits internist Steven Bailey, MD, of Methodist Physicians Clinic, with making this possible.
“I had recurring respiratory problems,” Jean explains, “and Dr. Bailey was relentless in insisting that I take the Lung Look Test.
According to Dr. Bailey, “As a longstanding smoker with a family history of lung cancer, Jean was certainly an ideal candidate for an early lung cancer detection screening program. She initially resisted but ultimately decided it was best for her long-term health to quit smoking and enter the screening program.”
The Lung Look Test, available at Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center, is a low dose CT scan provided as part of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program, or I-ELCAP. Already, study results have demonstrated that CT screenings of high-risk patients enable physicians to diagnose at least 80 percent of lung cancers at Stage I, the earliest stage, typically long before symptoms appear. Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in this country, has an 80 to 90 percent five-year survival rate if diagnosed at Stage I.
Jean had known she was at risk for lung cancer. She had smoked for many years and tried to quit countless times.
“If you smoke, you know what you’re risking. My eyes were wide open,” Jean admits. “I also have a family history of cancer, so I knew that smoking was the last thing I should do.”
Jean’s father, a smoker, died at age 60 of lung cancer and emphysema. “My kids were young then,” Jean says. “They didn’t get to know their grandfather.”
Jean didn’t want to lose precious years with her family. When the CT scan revealed the spot on her lung, Jean realized, “OK, this is reality. Time to wake up.”
Jean really wanted to quit smoking, and this time she had additional assistance: the smoking cessation medication varenicline, better known by its brand name: Chantix.
“Chantix worked for me,” Jean explains. “It took away the taste and desire, including that relaxing ‘ah’ feeling that used to come with a cigarette.”
Clinical studies have shown this drug to be highly effective for many individuals when administered with appropriate medical supervision. Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center is currently enrolling smokers who are ready to quit in a supervised QuitSmart-Chantix study.
Jean is back enjoying her family and regular activities, especially the gardening she dearly loves. Her speedy comeback, she believes, is due in large measure to the Methodist Hospital Pulmonary Partners rehabilitation program and the supportive staff who taught her how to pace herself and make the most of her breathing capacity.
“I am so lucky that we caught this early!” Jean says, “What if I hadn’t had the screening? I certainly wouldn’t have the chance I have now.”
Feeling Lucky