Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl and her husband enjoy cigarettes and sunshine during a romantical Mexican getaway this past weekend.
L-U-N-G C-A-N-C-E-R
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both women and men in the United States and throughout the world. Lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. In the United States in 2007, 160,390 people were projected to die from lung cancer, which is more than the number of deaths from colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer combined. Only about 2% of those diagnosed with lung cancer that has spread to other areas of the body are alive five years after the diagnosis, although the survival rates for lung cancers diagnosed at a very early stage are higher, with approximately 49% surviving for five years or longer.
E-M-P-H-Y-S-E-M-A
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lung that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the lung tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lung are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD (pulmonary refers to the lungs). Emphysema is called an obstructive lung disease because the destruction of lung tissue around smaller airways, called bronchioles, makes these airways unable to hold their shape properly when you exhale.
[Image via Pacific Coast News Online.]