Ventura, CA - November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know?

•Lung cancer is the second most common cancer found in men and women (not counting skin cancer);
•About 228,190 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed this year;
•Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women;
•Smoking is the leading risk factor for developing lung cancer;
•There are more than 400,000 lung cancer survivors in the United States today.
*Statistics are according to the American Cancer Society.

Symptoms of lung cancer may include nagging cough that does not go away or gets worse with time, coughing up blood, chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing or hoarseness, weight loss and loss of appetite, and repeated respiratory infections, including pneumonia and bronchitis.

Community Memorial Health System wants you to protect yourself and learn your risk. CMHS offers a free Lung Assessment online screening tool which takes just seven minutes and provides information about your personal risk for lung disease. Answer a few simple questions, and you will be provided with a report of your risk factors and recommendations for improving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. To find out if you are at risk go to www.cmhshealth.org/healthaware.

In addition, CMHS offers a lung cancer screening program to aid in the early detection of lung cancer. This helps doctors treat the disease in its early stages. Often times, lung cancer is detected in its later stages, making it difficult to treat after it has compromised other parts of the body. Talk to your doctor to see if you're a good candidate for the screening.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 11 family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.