Too Young to Get Lung Cancer?

The focus of this episode is to raise awareness and inform the public that young people get lung cancer, too. It’s not just a disease of old people. It’s not a disease tied specifically to smokers. Corey Wood, a college student, marathon runner, and successful mountain climber was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer at 22, with an unusual symptom. She discusses her experience and shows the fortitude of a remarkable young person with lung cancer. A brief description by Dr. Barbara Gitlitz discusses her research with folks under forty who get lung cancer. Tony Addario, founder and CEO of Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) discusses global research to determine if there is anything different and identifiable about this group. The new ALCMI epidemiology project just launched in February, 2021. What’s the moral of this story? Lung cancer is often ignored as a diagnosis for younger people, since many clinicians don’t consider this a disease to impact younger people. Understanding this, in order to save lives, age must not rule out a diagnosis of lung cancer.