Pulmonologist underscores lung cancer's smoking gun
ROGERSVILLE – As a pulmonologist at Hawkins County Memorial Hospital, Dr. Lata Shah sees numerous patients with lung cancer who might never have crossed paths with her were it not for a single, smoking gun – cigarettes.
“Bronchogenic carcinoma is undoubtedly the most preventable form of lung cancer,” Dr. Shah said, “and smoking causes that kind of lung cancer.”
Cigarettes and their link to cancer is hardly a revelation, but smoking is such an overriding factor that Dr. Shah remains ever vigilant at driving home the message to patients.
Don’t smoke – or quit if you do.
“It’s estimated that approximately 87 percent of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking, and 90 percent in men and 79 percent in women are related to cigarettes,” said Dr. Shah, who is board-certified in pulmonary disease and internal medicine.
There are other lung cancer risk factors, including such environmental factors as exposure to radon gas, asbestos and second-hand smoke.
“There are also risk factors from having certain kinds of lung diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, old pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” said Dr. Shah, who served her residency in internal medicine at East Tennessee State University’s Department of Internal Medicine and her fellowship in pulmonary/critical care medicine there as well. “They can increase your risk because the scars from these kinds of lung diseases can develop into cancer.
“But by far the most common risk factor is smoking.”
Dr. Shah points to a Mayo Clinic study on lung cancer as one of the most salient reasons to shun cigarettes. She said that in an attempt to discern the effectiveness of screening for lung cancer, Mayo researchers separated a patient study group into two branches: One group received chest X-rays twice a year to screen for lung cancer, and the other group didn’t receive the screening at all.
“In the screening group they found more patients with abnormal CT findings, and they also picked up patients with early-stage lung cancer,” Dr. Shah said. “But they also didn’t reduce the mortality in those patients.”
Lung cancer risk from smoking also depends on the amount and frequency someone smokes, Dr. Shah said. In all cases, though, a life without smoking drastically decreases your chances of developing lung cancer. The numerous aids available today to help smokers quit, such as Chantix and Nicorette, do help, she said – but nothing tops personal resolve.
“I can give you the knowledge and advice to help you quit smoking, but it still has to be the patient who’s going to work it out,” Dr. Shah said. “When the iron is hot, it’s malleable to shape, and that’s when you hit it with a hammer. In this case the hot iron is the patient and his or her willingness to quit, and the medicine is like the hammer. If you get help with medicine and you’re motivated, that works really great.
“If you’re not motivated to quit, medicine is not going to help you.”
Return to index