Date Published: 05/08/2007 [Source]
"Lung cancer has claimed 3,790 lives in Massachusetts and 162,460 throughout the country," Hedlund said in a press release. "I hope that this bill leads to better funding for lung cancer detection and research with the goal that one day there will be a cure for this disease."
Most national cancer organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, blame smoking as the leading cause of lung cancer, but exposure to second hand smoke from tobacco products, radon, and other chemicals is being factored into the rising rates of diagnosis, especially among women.
"Sixty percent of the new lung cancer diagnoses that are occurring now are happening in women who never smoked or smoked years ago," she said.