By Walter Silbert, MD
Lung cancer causes more cancer-related deaths each year in Tompkins and surrounding counties than any other type of cancer. The most important risk factor for the disease is smoking, which results in approximately 85 percent of all U.S. lung cancer cases. One of the reasons it remains so lethal is that lung cancer is not typically discovered until a patient develops symptoms at which point successful treatment is less likely. In fact Lung cancer diagnosed in its late stages has a poor prognosis and 90 percent will die from the disease. Fortunately, when lung cancer is detected early in the disease process — before the onset of symptoms — it is more responsive to treatment and patients often have a longer life expectancy.