(NAPSA)—Every three min- utes someonein the U.S. is diag- nosed with lung cancer. Many people do not realize that lung cancer is the leading cancerkiller of both men and women, killing more people each year than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer combined. As with most cancers, lung cancer survival rates are much higher for people diagnosed with early stage dis- ease compared with advanced disease. Unfortunately, nearly 85 percent of people with lung cancer have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. Early detection could help save the lives of many people threatened by lung cancer. Commonlung cancer symptomsinclude: Coughing e Shortness of breath Fatigue Pain in chest, shoulder, upper back, or arm Frequent pneumonia or bronchitis Blood coughed up from the lungs Unexplained weightloss Hoarseness Wheezing @ and Education. “Until effective lung cancer screening has been established, it is important to know the symptomsandrisk factors for Most people are aware of the the disease, and talk with your doctor if you are at risk.” factors can put someoneat risk. When a person is diagnosed connection between smoking and lung cancer. However, several other Lung cancer risk factors include a history of smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke, other lungdis- eases, family history of lung cancer, air pollution, radon, and certain chemicals such as arsenic, asbestos, uranium,anddieselfuel. Even if you know yourrisk factors, early detection can be diffi- cult because many people either do not have symptoms until the disease has progressed, or have symptomsthat can be easily con- fused with other illnesses. It is important to familiarize yourself with symptomsof lung cancer and discuss them with yourdoctor. Five-year survival rates can reach up to 80 percent for people diagnosed with early stage disease. “We currently do not have an FDA- approved test for lung cancer screening and early detection. But we are hopeful such a test will be available in the near future because of the manyclinical trials that are currently underway to evaluate different screening pro- grams,” said Cindy Langhorne, Director of Operations, Alliance for Lung Cancer, Advocacy, Support, Treatment with lung cancer, his or her doctor will recommend a course of treatment. New treatments and combinations of treatments are increasing survival rates for people with lung cancer. “Many chemotherapy regimens used to treat lung cancer trigger a great deal of nausea and vomiting. Thankfully, there are medications available such as EMEND that, when used with other anti-vomiting medicines, Tell your doctor if you are taking other medicines, if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, if you are breast-feeding,orif you have liver problems. EMEND may causeserious life-threatening reactions if used with certain medi- cines. Some medicines can affect EMEND. EMEND mayalso affect some medicines, including chemotherapy, causing them to work dif- ferently in your body. Women who use birth control pills while taking EMEND should also use a backup method of contracep- tion to avoid pregnancy. Do not take EMEND if you are taking any of the following medi- cines: ORAP (pimozide), SELDANE (terfenadine), HISMANAL (astemizole) or PROPULSID (cisapride). Tak- ing EMEND with these medicines could cause seriousorlife-threatening problems. Do not take EMEND if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in EMEND. Theactive ingredientis aprepitant. Your doctor may check to make sure your other medicines are working, while you are taking EMEND. Patients who take COUMADIN (warfarin) may need to have blood tests after each 3-day can help prevent nausea and vom- treatment with EMEND to check their blood clotting. type of chemotherapy that causes with EMENDare tiredness, nausea, hiccups, constipation, diarrhea, iting in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy, the patients to vomit the most,” said Langhorne. Important Information About EMEND EMENDis an antiemetic medicine for use in adult patients. An antiemetic is a medicine used to prevent and control nausea and The most commonside effects and loss of appetite. These are not all of the possible side effects of EMEND. For further information ask yourdoctor or pharmacist. For more information on EMEND visit www.emend.com. Please see the adjacent patient product information and discussit vomiting. EMEND is always used WITH OTHER MEDICINES to prevent with your doctor. For more information about lung caused by your chemotherapy speak with your doctor or contact the Alliance for Lung Cancer Advo- and control nausea and vomiting treatment. EMEND is not used to treat nausea and vomiting that you already have. cancer and its treatment, please cacy, Support, and Education at www.alcase.org or 800-298-2436. Note to Editors: Novemberis Lung Cancer Awareness Month, but release is applicable anytime.
