This week, May 7 - 13, isn’t just a week to celebrate mothers everywhere, but it's also National Women’s Lung Health Week. This is the fourth annual National Women’s Lung Health Week started by the American Lung Association, to emphasize the importance of taking care of your lungs. Perhaps due to society’s strong emphasis of cigarette smoking being a direct culprit of causing lung cancer, many people who don’t smoke ironically may not think too much about their lung health, since the elimination of smoking helps decrease the chances of getting lung cancer. The truth is, however, whether one smokes or doesn’t, anyone with lungs can get lung cancer.
Lung cancer disease is the number one leading cause of cancerous death in both men and women and additionally, the number of women who die from lung cancer each year has practically doubled in the last 30 years. Despite these startling statistics, lung cancer disease is often overlooked by women, however, LUNG FORCE Hero, La’Kesha Johnson, wants to change that narrative, after having gone through her own experience with lung cancer.
Back in September 2014, at just 43-years-old, Johnson originally went to her doctor to have a chest CT scan administered for a non-related issue, when her doctor detected a nodule on her right lung. “I was taken aback…at the time, I considered myself to be fairly young when I was diagnosed,” said Johnson. “Everyone would tell me ‘oh it’s nothing’ or ‘you don’t have anything to worry about since you don’t smoke.’” However, despite being a non-smoker all of her life and having no prior history of lung cancer in her family, Johnson received a second CT scan two and a half months later, where the radiologist confirmed the nodule increased in size.
“It was hard for me,” said Johnson. “I almost felt like I hit a brick wall when I found out, but, I stayed encouraged until I had the surgery.”
In February 2015, Johnson had surgery to remove the nodule and it was afterward when Johnson found out that it was cancerous, but thanks to the early detection, the stage 1A cancer didn’t spread. Given everything Johnson was going through at the time, she focused on being strong, staying encouraged and relying on faith to not only get her through that difficult time but to mainly be there for her now nine-year-old daughter, Zöe, no matter the circumstances.
“I was very blessed to not have to go through chemo[therapy] and I didn’t have to have radiation either,” Johnson said. “I was very thankful to the Lord for helping me through that and it being caught early.”
Since the completion of her surgery, Johnson continues to get her CT scans done every year to make sure her lungs remain healthy and works towards maintaining a healthier lifestyle for both her and Zöe, including trying to stay away from second-hand smoke.
“I find that people automatically assume that I was a cigarette smoker when I say that I had lung cancer, but that’s not the case,” said Johnson. “I’ve never smoked before in my life and I want to increase the awareness that anyone can get lung cancer even if they don’t smoke.”
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Similar to Johnson, approximately two-thirds of non-smokers diagnosed with lung cancer are women. Additionally, women are twice as likely to develop lung cancer than men, with an average of one woman passing away every seven minutes as a result of lung cancer.
Amidst this information, fortunately for women with lung cancer, the chances of survival arehigher at all stages of the disease compared to men.
For women who are at risk of getting lung cancer, it’s important to know how to recognize the symptoms and when to get a screening.
Thankfully, many Americans are eligible for lung cancer screening with Low-Dose CT (LDCT) scan which is a fairly quick scan that takes less than a minute to complete and is used to detect lung cancer early, when it’s more likely to be curable.
For those who have been diagnosed with lung cancer, to help you get through the difficult time, Johnson says it’s beneficial to maintaining a healthier lifestyle, avoid second-hand smoke and exposure to radon, as well as complete a CT scan. Additionally, she also stresses the importance of having a support system, relying on faith and enjoying every moment in life.
“I really have to take advantage of every day because you never know what will happen in the next hour,” said Johnson. “I really try to make sure I’m here for everyday life has for me and I enjoy and celebrate even the smallest things…my time with my daughter, my family…I take a lot of pictures because tomorrow is not promised and I’m going to take advantage of every minute I have with them.”
Unfortunately, lung cancer takes the lives of many mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends. So especially this week, together with LUNG FORCE Hero, La’Kesha Johnson, let’s help raise awareness for lung cancer and encourage those who may be at risk to get the scan so we increase the number of lung cancer survivors.
For more information about lung cancer please visit. www.lung.org
Shawna Davis is a wellness journalist and the founder and creator of the wellness lifestyle blog, Flowing and Froing. Beyond the blog, she is a certified yoga instructor, wife, dog mama and is a natural hair enthusiast that’s passionate about health, wellness, and beauty. You can follow her on Instagram @itsshawnadavis.
