Anyone who has read any of my articles or anything I've written knows by now that I enjoy a good book or movie. A way to escape for a short period of time, away from the worry of bills, money, cancer and the rest of the things in the world that demand so much of our attention. A very well written book or a well-produced and directed movie can really do the trick. Something that challenges your thought process or even your beliefs, makes you ask yourself "what would I do in that circumstance," would I make the right decision the right move what would I do different.
My case in point book is The Dead Zone by Stephen King. The Dead Zone was published in 1979 and made into a movie in 1983 starring Christopher Walken in the lead role of Johnny and Martin Sheen as politician Greg Stillson. The movie varies a little from the novel but holds the same tone. If you are not familiar with it, I'll give you the readers digest version. Man has auto accident, ends up in a coma, comes out of coma, finds out he has developed a form of extrasensory perception called Psycometry which is the ability to read objects by coming into contact with them causing him to have visions of events related to the object. He saves some lives, solves some crimes all the while becoming a little weaker. While attending a political rally, he comes into contact with nut job Stillson. Johnny grasps his hand and has a vision of Stillson becoming President of the United States and launching the world into a nuclear holocaust just because he can. He knows he must do something to alter Stillsons path and begins to formulate a plan.
Here comes the reason I'm telling you this story. The part that makes you think a little. In a very pivotal part of the book Johnny asks a World War One veteran who had lost his son during World War Two this question, "Knowing what you know today if you could go back in time to 1932, before the second war, before the holocaust and kill Hitler, would you do it."
What would you do?
Here's a question that I have asked myself a few times, "Knowing what I know now, would I have ever started smoking"? Or even better yet, if someone would have come to me ten years ago and said if you stop smoking and alter a few things about the way you take care of yourself you could avoid lung cancer a decade from now?
WHAT IF I COULD OFFER THAT TO YOU?
What if I told you that there is a test that has recently been developed and tested and that with a simple questioner, and a swab of the inside of your mouth,you will know your future as far as lung cancer is concerned. You could alter your own fate; spare your family and friends the anguish that is a part of treatment that comes along with lung cancer.
The test is called Respiragene it was developed from the research conducted by a Brilliant scientist from New Zealand named Dr. Robert P. Young.
Dr.Young has also provide us with extensive research regarding the use of statins and the positive effects shown as far as the anti-inflammatory effects in not only the arteries but also the lungs and therefore becomes a very viable treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Another exciting benefit of statin treatments is a reduced risk of lung cancer.
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease die primarily from complications of smoking, specifically coronary artery disease (CAD), COPD related complications (respiratory failure with or without chest infection), lung cancer and stroke. Collectively these account for over 80% of deaths in COPD. CAD is the most common cause followed by lung cancer and then other COPD related complications.
Although smoking exposure has a central role in both COPD and Lung Cancer only approximately 10 to 15% of chronic smokers develop lung cancer while 20 to 30% develop COPD
Here's the kicker kids, Epidemiological studies show that smokers with COPD are at a considerably higher risk of lung cancer than smokers with normal lung function.
So the common theory is one of the which comes first the chicken, represented by COPD or the egg, represented by lung cancer. There is growing evidence that they both result from common pathological responses to inflammatory process in the lung and that the individual smoker's response to these processes are genetically determined.
Let me try and make this so easy even I can understand what I'm talking about. If you are a past or present smoker you run the risk of developing a lung disease that can steer you right into lung cancer and we all know that lung cancer is the leading killer among the cancer family.
We'll come back to our conversation regarding statin therapy and COPD in another article because what we really need to talk about, what is truly important today is your health.
In mid December I received e-mail from Tracy Sestili the CEO and Founder of the Beverly Fund a lung cancer organization doing great things from their base in California. I have a lot of respect for Tracy so when she was excited enough to get in touch with me immediately after hearing Dr.Young, I knew it had to be something special. I was right; it was my first introduction to the non-invasive early detection test called Respiragene.
Tracy then introduced me to Stephen Markscheid the CEO of Synergenz BioScience, Inc. the producers of the Respiragene test.
Stephen sent all the information including scientific background, studies anything I asked for in a very upfront, straightforward manner, which helped cement, the legitimacy of the product.
I met with Mr. Markscheid in Chicago in the early part of January and at the conclusion of that meeting had offered up my services to assist in spreading the word about this test. Keep in mind the GFLCCO has not supported any pharmaceutical company or endorsed any other product. We do not take these things lightly and will not knowingly do anything that would damage the reputation that we strive to uphold. That being said, I believe that this could provide some needed light at the end of the tunnel. Lung cancer will flat out kill the majority of people who contract it; there is no way around the facts of that matter. So if you know that a straight up fight does not provide you with the best odds of winning, you start looking for advantages. Well here it is, How do you beat cancer, you avoid it. You step out of the path of the moving bus before it gets anywhere near you. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that smoking causes approximately 440,000 premature deaths in the U.S. annually, at the same time reports show that if you quit smoking, in a ten-year time frame your lungs can be back to full health.
80% remember this number for me will you please, 80%; we'll get back to that in a moment.
Once again I ask, if you could alter your fate today for the sake of your family if not yourself, would you do it? Would you step back out of the street and onto the curb to avoid the bus that you can see two blocks away that is screaming out of control towards you, or will you stand in the street and die a needless and very preventable death.
Here is what is involved in a Respiragene test.
1) DNA is obtained by a simple mouth swab
2) You answer three questions in regards to non-genetic risk factors
3) Your physician receives your test results back about two weeks after your sample and questionnaire are received.
Your results will place you in a "moderate risk": smokers and ex-smokers in this category are 20 to 30 times more likely to develop lung cancer then a non-smoker, "High" 4 times more likely then the average smoker to develop lung cancer or "Very high" Ten times more likely to develop lung cancer than the average smoker.
Respiragene is the only test of its type to help identify smokers and ex-smokers at greatest risk of lung cancer.
Ok, so you take the test and get the results now what?
Let me tell you. Options, you have now given yourself options, your future has been told and now you must decide if you're a very high risk what are you willing to do right then and there to change your fate. If your moderate risk you are still at a 20 to 30 times greater risk of lung cancer ending your life.
Talk to your physician about the test, contact your health insurance provider and ask about coverage for the Respiragene test. Talk to your employer about making sure that this test is available as a preventative procedure or covered as a part of a smoking Cessation program.
Read and do some research. Be proactive when it comes to your health and your life.
There are so many programs to help you quit even if you have tried and failed before, treatments that can help you heal your lungs over time. All you need to do is take the first step, look for the light at the end of the tunnel it's there and it's called Respiragene.
One last thing, what was that number I asked you to remember? Oh yeah, 80%
80% of those diagnosed with lung cancer are dead within two years. I was diagnosed in the spring of 2007; whatever time I have remaining is dedicated to fighting and beating lung cancer.
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