It is the second most common cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease. Over 750,000 new cases of cancer are reported annually and a tremendous economic and emotional burden is suffered by its victims and their families.
Cancer is a disease which results from a malignant overgrowth, without control or purpose, of cells.
Cells are the basic building blocks of the human body, and vary in form and function depending on which type of tissue or organ of the body they derive from. Therefore, there are literally dozens of different types of cancer, and each cancer may require a different type of treatment. Approximately 170,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer annually. However, before the 1900's, lung cancer was relatively rare. In the early 1940's, surgeons Michael DeBakey and Alton Ochsner made note of the connection between the rise in cigarette sales and increase in cases of lung cancer.