November 6, 2003

SIU Med School Announces Lung Awareness Program

A program to help smokers "outwit, outlast and overcome" smoking and lung cancer is being presented from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 18, by the Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The program, Take the Quit Smoking Challenge, is being hosted by Memorial Medical Center (MMC) in Wedeberg Conference Center, 701 N. 1st St., Springfield. Co-sponsors are the American Cancer Society (ACS), American Lung Association (ALA) and Illinois Department of Public Health. The event coincides with ACS's Great American Smokeout and Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

The program begins with an opportunity for visiting a series of information booths and screenings. Packets with materials and several free items will be given to the first 100 people who attend and stop smoking kits will be provided by ALA. Pulmonary volume screenings will be performed by MMC respiratory therapists and interpreted by an SIU pulmonologist. MMC is offering a number of coupons for free chest X-rays to attendees.

At 6 p.m., short presentations will be given by SIU faculty physicians, members of SIU's Thoracic Oncology Program, or TOPS. The program is a new multi-disciplinary clinic at the SIU Cancer Institute, which started seeing patients this fall. The goal is for several specialists to see patients with possible or confirmed cancers in the chest the same day and develop a consensus treatment plan for each. The TOPS team also is working to offer new clinical trials, including participating in national cooperative group trials.

Dr. Stephen Hazelrigg, professor of cardiothoracic surgery and medical director for TOPS, will give an overview of the program. Dr. Akshay Sood, assistant professor of pulmonary medicine, will talk about the benefits of smoking cessation. Dr. Manuel Valdivieso, professor of oncology and director of the new SIU Cancer Institute, will discuss the present status of lung cancer screening. Dr. P. J. Nanavati, a radiation oncologist with University Radiologists, will talk about new developments in radiation therapy for treating lung cancer. After the program, the physicians and other TOPS team members will be available for questions. Light refreshments will be served.

There is no charge for the program but registration is encouraged. Contact Jan, the receptionist at the SIU Cancer Institute, 545-6818 weekdays.

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