... continued from page 7 [Kelly Graham].
Advocating as a Lung Cancer Ambassador is important to me because:
1. I want to debunk the misconception that lung cancer is only caused by smoking.
2. Lung Cancer has a low 5-year survival rate and a high reoccurrencerate. Patients, after undergoing treatment, should have their homes tested to avoid re-exposure to
high radon levels.
3. I want people to know if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer. Let’s reduce the stigma associated with lung cancer.
4. Lung cancer kills more Canadian's annually than colon, breast, and prostate combined so let's make sure the funding
for lung cancer screening reflects this!
I would like Canadians to know that radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer! Canada is one of several countries with some of the highest radon levels in
the world.
Given my firsthand experience with
lung cancer, I would like the Canadian government to take the following actions:
1. Revise national building codes to have new homes radon tested after construction.
2. Develop programs to help offset costs
of radon mitigation.
3. Establish a program with radon mitigation companies to travel to
remote areas.
4. Implement a lung cancer screening program with low dose CT scans to
detect lung c ancer early. Screening
already exists for breast, colon, and prostate cancers but not for lung cancer.
5. Invest in more clinical trials and research that can detect lung cancer and radon exposure earlier.
6. Create an extensive national awareness campaign on social media in regard to lung cancer and radon.
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