Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital gives a look into lung cancer

PADUCAH, Ky. (KBSI)- Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital hosted a lung cancer community education event Friday, encouraging people to quit smoking.

“We are the 50th state in the United States for smoking,” said John Montville, Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital Oncology Service Line Director. “We are as bad as it gets here in Kentucky. And we need to turn that around, and we will.”

According to the American Lung Association, in late 2021 Kentucky had the highest number of new cases of lung cancer in the U.S. — and among the lowest survival rates in the country.

Kentucky also ranks second in the nation for lung cancer screenings, which helps to save more lives.

Educating the community about lung cancer awareness and the steps you or your loved ones could take to prevent it, is Dr. Mohamad Khoudoud, who gave a speech at the event.

“It enables us to go after smaller tumors that are further out in the lung,” said Dr. Khoudoud. “Basically, you must open somebody’s chest to get to them. So, nowadays, we have less invasive techniques to biopsy these tumors in the pit of the lung.”

Large inflatable lungs, the Mega Lungs, were placed in front of the hospital to bring awareness to the growing epidemic.

This large-scale, interactive, educational model of the human lungs teach people about the risks, symptoms, nature, and causes for various diseases.

Using a CT scan, a radiologist can detect lung nodules that may be cancerous. Detecting lung cancer early can provide better health outcomes for patients.