Every Two Minutes, Someone in the U.S. is Diagnosed with Lung Cancer

According to the American Lung Association, an adult in the United States is diagnosed with lung cancer every two minutes, and approximately 10% of those diagnoses are among individuals who have never smoked. When found early, lung cancer is more likely to be treated successfully; however, only a quarter of cases diagnosed each year are at an early stage and rates for lung cancer screening are extremely low across the country.

In observance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November, Jess Mandel, MD, pulmonologist and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UC San Diego Health is available to discuss the lung cancer screening program available at UC San Diego Health. Mandel can provide more information on who is eligible for screening, signs and symptoms of lung cancer, and treatment options available at UC San Diego Health as the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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Biography :

Jess Mandel, MD, is a board-certified pulmonologist who treats patients with a variety of respiratory conditions. His interests include pulmonary vascular disease, critical care medicine, and pulmonary vascular malformations such hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (a disorder that affects blood vessels).

He has treated many patients with COVID-19 and led efforts to assist health care professionals in Tijuana during the pandemic.

Mandel is the Kenneth M. Moser Professor of Medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and chief of the Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Division and serves as vice chair for education in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Mandel was honored with a Presidential Citation by the San Diego County Medical Society for his involvement in their COVID response. More significantly, he helped organize relief efforts in Tijuana and Mexicali, reducing the cross-border spread of COVID and saving hundreds of lives.

He is active in several leadership roles with the American Thoracic Society, including serving as chair of their international conference.