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Tribe commemorates Lung Cancer Awareness Month
By Jami Custer
Staff Writer
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and the Cherokee Nation and some area health facilities are doing what they can to help fight the disease and what causes it.
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer found in both men (after prostate cancer) and women (after breast cancer). It accounts for about 15 percent of all new cancers, according to www.cancer.org.
“I think the awareness of letting people know the effects of commercial tobacco is very harmful to our people (is important),” said June Maher, CN Tobacco Prevention coordinator. “We (Native Americans) do have a high rate of cancer in these areas and not just lung cancer; it could be any kind of cancer.”
One of the leading causes of lung cancer is smoking, and Nov. 20 is an excellent day to start quitting since as part of the Great American Smokeout. On this day, everyone in America is to put down their cigarettes for one whole day in an effort to make themselves healthy and maybe quit for good.
“Smoking can affect anybody, and if they have never tried to quit smoking, it gives them the opportunity to try for one day to see if they can do it,” Maher said. “We have some people who have tried in the past and it hasn’t been very successful for them, but we had one lady that said if she could do all day then she could go ahead and try from now on. She quit.”
CN is partnering with the Cherokee County Health Department and Bill Willis Mental Health to show the dangers of smoking. In order for it to get its anti-smoking message out, the BWMH uses a Community of Excellence Grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.
“CN, Community of Excellence, the county health department and BWMH are partnering with some of the local businesses and health facilities to help promote the dangers of smoking,” Maher said.
Each clinic will design its own way of letting its employees and patients know of the dangers of tobacco use. For example, the tribe’s Muskogee Three Rivers Clinic is having a Great American Smokeout run on Nov. 22. Most clinics give out survival packs to their patients and employees if this effort to encourage non-smoking.
Earlier this year, the tribe put into action a tobacco-free policy at all CN governmental properties. The Nation offers smoking cessation classes and works with schools in the area by developing Students Working Against Tobacco teams in an effort to discourage smoking.
“Cherokee Nation Health Services is committed to reducing cancer rates in the Cherokee Nation,” said Dr. Gloria Grim, CN medical director. “The Cherokee Nation Comprehensive Cancer Coalition is one of the first tribal programs to complete a cancer prevention plan and begin implementation of the plan.”
CN was also recently recognized for its work in cancer control. The tribe was named the 2008 Exemplary Tribal Organization for Comprehensive Cancer Control Implementation by C-Change, a national cancer organization.
“This is a great honor for the Cherokee Nation and our Health Services team,” said Principal Chief Chad Smith. “For many years we have been working in several areas of cancer control, including prevention, treatment and advocacy. This program is a good example of gadugi, working together to help those in need.”
According to www.cancer.org, lung cancer in some cases is cured, and more than 400,000 people who are living today were diagnosed with lung cancer at some time in their life. For more information, call 1-800-QUIT NOW.
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