OPI's "Breathe Life" supporting Lung Cancer Foundation of America

OPI Breathe Life Nail Lacquer is created exclusively to help the Lung Cancer Foundation of America in its efforts to raise funds for early detection, diagnosis & most of all, a cure.

Choose to wear this fresh-air, silvery blue to show your support.

Lung cancer has stopped our breathing long enough. Let's cure it!

The New York Times: Genetic Tests May Reveal Source of Mystery Tumors

When Jo Symons was found to have cancer, there was an extra complication: doctors could not tell what type of cancer she had.

Tumors were found in her neck, chest and lymph nodes. But those tumors had spread there from someplace else, and her doctors could not determine whether the original site was the breast, the colon, the ovary or some other organ. Without that knowledge, they could not offer optimal treatment.

Such mystery tumors are estimated to account for 2 percent to 5 percent of all cancer, or at least 30,000 new cases a year in the United States, making them more common than brain, liver or stomach cancers. For patients, such a diagnosis can amount to a double agony — not only do they have cancer, but doctors cannot treat it properly.

“You don’t believe that in the 21st century it is possible for the medical profession not to know where the cancer is coming from,” said Ms. Symons’s husband, John.

But now 21st-century medicine may help. New genetic tests may pinpoint the origin of the mystery tumors. The tests, which cost more than $3,000 each, still need to prove their worth better, experts say, though some of them are hopeful.

Gene defect raises lung cancer risk

A study in the United States has found that an often undetected gene defect can double the risk of contracting lung cancer.

A deficiency of a protein called alpha 1-antitrypsin can make the body more receptive to carcinogenic substances, says Professor Helmut Teschler of Germany's Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine (DGP) in reference to the study's findings.

People with the gene defect are more susceptible to the harmful substances contained in tobacco products and are advised to quit smoking immediately.

New Edward Hospital clinic aids lung cancer treatment

Chicago, Illinois --

Doctors at Edward Hospital in Naperville say they will be able to expedite lung cancer treatments with a just-opened clinic.

Dr. Maria Quejada said the hospital's new multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic allows patients to determine a course of treatment in one day rather than the weeks- to months-long process traditional treatment plans take to develop.

"The advantage to this type of program is a patient will come into the cancer center and see different specialists all in one visit," she said. "The case is then discussed by a team and they come up with a plan of care that day."

For the area, it is a one-of-a-kind approach to patient care, Edward officials said. Patients will see oncologists, thoracic surgeons, pulmonologists, social workers, coordinating nurses as well as take any necessary tests the day they visit.

Dana Reeve's Nephew Champions Aunt's Legacy

Representing the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation's New Generation of Crusaders, James Lichtenthal Traveled to New York City on March 5, 2009 for the American Cancer Society's Awareness Day Last Thursday, three years almost to the date of his aunt Dana Reeve's untimely death from Lung Cancer, James Lichtenthal, 18, boarded a 5:30 a.m. plane to New York City from Boston, carrying with him expectations of hope and change to more than 200 high school students and guests gathered at a rally to raise awareness for all cancers held at Fiorello LaGuardia High School.