On October 23, seven-time Tour de France winner and testicular cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, with attend a day-long meeting in Lexington, Kentucky as a member of the President's Cancer Panel to discuss the promotion of healthy lifestyles in reducing cancer risks. The President's Cancer Panel was created by the National Cancer Act over thirty years ago to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the National Cancer Program. The Panel identifies and conducts inquiry into concerns and emerging issues in cancer-related science and cancer care. Members of the Panel include Armstrong; Dr. LaSalle Leffall; Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D.; and Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D.

Dr. LaSalle Leffall is the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and Chairman of the Board of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D., is Professor of Immunology and Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Abby B. Sandler, Ph.D., Chief, Institute Review Office (IRO), National Cancer Institute (NCI), became Executive Secretary of the President's Cancer Panel in January of 2005.

The meeting in Kentucky will focus on recommendations related to tobacco and exposure to indoor smoke. Researchers and experts will attend the meeting to join the discussions.

To learn more, Assessing Progress, Advancing Change 2005-2006 Annual Report President's Cancer Panel is a 133-page report available as a PDF document.

I love to stop and read tabloid headlines while waiting in the grocery store line. Who among us doesn't? And those who deny it are likely fibbing. Here is one originally written by Jen Creer that I encountered today while reading our sister blog, Blogging Baby. Apparently Kate Beckinsdale was photographed lighting up and inhaling just minutes after she had stepped out of her gym. Normally I would not have jumped at this but as I have been on a secondhand smoking kick as of late, I thought it applicable. Ms. Beckinsdale is a mother of a young daughter. Hopefully she doesn't smoke in the home or car with her little girl. Perhaps if she is visiting California she could order some free pamphlets from KIISS about the dangers of secondhand smoke in the home and automobile. But no matter where she is, her status as a movie star makes her fair fodder for the paparazzi to photograph and fun reading material for bloggers.

The members of KIISS, Kids Involuntarily Inhaling Secondhand Smoke, are making every effort to educate the nation on the dangers that secondhand smoke poses for young children. Founded in April of 2000 by the hard workers who were responsible for California's 1994 statewide ban of smoking in the workplace, the organization has taken its efforts to the road. The education in other states focuses on the harmful effects of secondhand smoke in the public and restaurants, while the group concentrates on furthering the California awareness by helping the public understand the need to create smoke free environments in homes and cars. Currently 40 states allow smoking in restaurants and the workplace. Free educational kits are available to order from the site, they include brochures, decals and educational videos on how to create a smoke free home.

Smokers across the United States are discovering that the freedom to light up and take a drag is becoming more and more difficult. While there has long been a movement to ban smoking in family restaurants and the like, anti-smoking groups are now pushing for all eateries, including bars, and open public arenas to be smoke free. One such ordinance was implemented in Calabasas, California last month. The ban makes it prohibitive to smoke in all public areas, this includes, sidewalks, parking lots, parks and even private, outdoor balconies if they happen to be near common areas used by multiple people. While this sounds harsh to smokers, research has shown that secondhand smoke is harmful to everyone, but especially hard on children. Secondhand smoke has been shown to harmful to children's health including asthma, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections. Children's exposure to secondhand smoke is responsible for: 

• Increases in the number of asthma attacks and severity of symptoms in 200,000 to 1 million children with asthma; 
  
• An annual rate of 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections for children under 18 months of age.
  
• Respiratory tract infections resulting in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year.

Smokers who are caught taking a drag within the Calabasas city limits will be fined up to $500 for ignoring the new rule.

Here are basic lung cancer facts. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and accounts for 30 percent of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer will kill more people this year than the combined deaths from breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer and melanoma.  Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men, and will cause the death of three times as many men as prostate cancer this year. Lung cancer will cause the cancer death of nearly twice as many women as breast cancer this year. Over 50 percent of new lung cancer cases will be diagnosed at a very late stage, and only five percent of lung cancer survivors live five years.

Of new lung cancer diagnosis made this year, 35-40 percent are current smokers,  50 percent are former smokers, and 10-15 percent have never smoked. The risk factors for lung cancer are smoking, exposure to secondhand or passive smoke, radon, the chemicals arsenic, asbestos, uranium, and diesel fuel. Lung scarring from emphysema, COPD, or tuberculosis can lead to lung cancer.

When lung cancer does cause symptoms, they are likely to be coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing, pain in the chest, shoulder, upper back, or arm, coughing up blood, repeated pneumonia or bronchitis, loss of appetite, weight loss, hoarseness or swelling of face or neck.

If you smoke, or are a former smoker, it is important to have regular check-ups and to watch for any changes in how you feel. Many people with lung cancer have no symptoms until the disease has advanced into late stages. If you have never smoked, and begin to notice any of the above symptoms, see your physician. The symptoms of lung cancer are similar to many other illnesses, but it is best to be on the safe side. Any cancer diagnosed early leads to a better chance of survival.