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Gail Matthews: A local survivor & leader in the fight against lung cancer.
In the fall of 2000, Gail Matthews husband, Glen, signed her up for a preventive Electronic Beam Tomography (EBT) scan at Cooper Clinic in Dallas. Exhibiting no symptoms and believing herself to be in great health, Gail was very reluctant to undergo what she felt was an unnecessary test.
But Glen persisted and Gail agreed to the EBT, designed to detect calcium buildup in arteries. Instead of uncovering buildup, however, the seven-minute procedure lead doctors toward discovering a mass on her right lung. They advised her to immediately return to Boston, her home at the time, for further testing and diagnosis. More shocking than the discovery of the mass, was the fact that Gail showed no signs of illness and had never smoked.
The next day, Gail was at the Lahey Clinic. When she awoke from what was to be ‘exploratory’ surgery, she was informed that the bottom portion of her right lung had been removed. While she couldn’t believe that a healthy, nonsmoking woman, such as herself, could get lung cancer, she quickly learned that non-smoking women comprise the fastest growing segment of individuals developing this deadly disease, the number one cancer killer.
A two-time lung cancer survivor, Gail is working diligently to help others battling lung cancer and aid efforts toward uncovering the cause and cure.
For more information regarding efforts in the fight against lung cancer, email Gail, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit lungcanceralliance.org.
Gail Matthews is the founder of various organizations / funds established to raise awareness, promote early detection and increased research, and help win the fight against cancer. Some of these entities include: the Mammography Fund for Women in Need (at New London Hospital, 1990); Women Who Make a Difference luncheon (to benefit the Well Child Clinic of the Lake Sunapee Region Visiting Nurse Association, 2000); and the Crystal Ball (to benefit lung cancer, 2006).
Matthews, a mother and grandmother (of six), has supported the Love Lights a Tree program for the American Cancer Society) and the Lahey Clinic Nurses Appreciation Fund (2000), among many other endeavors. She and her husband currently reside in Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, SC.
Lung Cancer FACTS
Info courtesy Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.com) and Center for Disease Control (cdc.gov)
- Lung cancer is the most preventable form of cancer death.
- More people die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer. This is true for both men and women. In 2004, lung cancer accounted for more deaths than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer combined.
- Current or former women smokers have a greater risk of lung cancer than men who have smoked an equal amount. Some experts speculate that women have a greater susceptibility to the cancer-causing substances found in tobacco. Others believe that estrogen may play a role. Women also are known to inhale more than men do, and they are less likely to quit.
- Even if you don’t smoke, your risk of lung cancer increases if you’re exposed to secondhand smoke.
- People with a parent, sibling or other first-degree relative with lung cancer are at increased risk.
- Drinking more than a moderate amount of alcohol — no more than one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men — may increase your risk of lung cancer.
- Screening for lung cancer is controversial among doctors. Studies are ongoing to determine what types of tests may be helpful and who would benefit from lung cancer screening.
