Dr. Terrance T. Healey, director of thoracic radiology at Rhode Island Hospital and chair of the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE Expo – Providence, earned a medical degree from the Brown University-Dartmouth College combined medical program.
He completed his residency at Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and thoracic radiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He is an assistant professor of diagnostic imaging at The Warren Alpert Medical School. Healey’s area of expertise involves using image-guided thermal ablation to treat lung tumors.
In recognition of the final days of lung cancer awareness month, Providence Business News reached out to ask Healey’s insight into common misconceptions regarding lung cancer.
PBN: Common wisdom alerts people to a higher lung cancer risk for smokers, but few people appear to know nonsmokers also face a risk, albeit reduced. How much breathing room, so to speak, does a nonsmoker get from avoiding smoking, and what are the other risk factors for lung cancer a nonsmoker should be aware of?
HEALEY: The bottom line is that anyone who has lungs can get lung cancer. In fact, two-thirds of lung cancer patients either never smoked or quit smoking years ago. There are also a number of other factors including genetic mutations, exposure to particle pollution, radon and secondhand smoke, that could increase your risk for getting lung cancer.
PBN: What is the screening process? What should we look out for by way of symptoms?
HEALEY: Lung cancer can be especially dangerous because the warning signs and symptoms vary from person to person – and in some cases there can be none at all. The best bet is to be informed about the disease and your own risk and to talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.
To be eligible for lung cancer screening you must be considered “high risk” for developing lung cancer, which would mean you meet the following criteria: Anyone age 55-80 with a 30-pack-year smoking history, is a current smoker or quit smoking in the last 15 years may be eligible for screening.
If you’re not sure if you are eligible, visit SavedByTheScan.org to take our lung cancer screening eligibility quiz. The screening is actually just a low-dose CT scan, which can be performed in hospitals and imaging centers located throughout the country. Savedbythescan.org allows you to search for facilities by zip code.
PBN: In Rhode Island, lung cancer took more than 640 lives in 2015 – what are the demographics behind that number, and how do they compare to state figures?
HEALEY: The incidence of lung cancer in R.I. is in the highest quartile in the U.S. with 69.6 cases per 100,000 population. Utah has the lowest incidence with only 25.6 cases per 100,000 population.
PBN: What’s the most promising treatment(s) on the horizon?
HEALEY: There are a number of promising treatments on the horizon and a ton of incredible research going on in hospitals throughout the country. However, the tip I can give that is most likely to help someone is that early detection saves lives. In early stages, lung cancer is far more likely to be curable – but sadly, only 16 percent of cases are diagnosed at this stage, largely due to a lack of awareness and screening.
PBN: Can you speak about the most common misconception regarding lung cancer?
HEALEY: Its prevalence. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of men and women in the United States. In the last 39 years, the rate of new lung cancer cases has fallen 32 percent among men while increasing 94 percent among women. One in 17 American women will get lung cancer in her lifetime. Half of all women diagnosed with lung cancer will not even survive one year. Lung cancer kills almost two times as many women as breast cancer and three times as many men as prostate cancer.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
