Risks For Lung Cancer Shown In Mannequin Moment

Many of us at Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists have been laughing with you, at the new fad called “mannequin challenge.”

It’s a trendy activity in which a group of people freezes in positions as the camera moves around the group’s interesting scene.

The resulting frozen “freeze-frame” photo exhibits details of the participant’s dramatic and emotional actions and reactions to a moment.

A slow motion video is made, and when it is a good one, no one in the lively “still” shot appears to be blinking, moving or breathing.

Risks:  Lung Cancer Risks Frozen In One Moment

The characters in the story of a moment are caught up in a tiny moment of time.

This remarkably unusual fad made us think about a mannequin challenge treatment for this week’s blog topic of Avoiding the Risks of Lung Cancer.

In honor of next week’s Thanksgiving feast, we chose to envision a frozen moment that pictured a family gathering, shortly after the turkey dinner.

As we told you in our recent Awareness blog, anyone, male or female, young or old, faces the possibility of contracting lung cancer.  So, as we wind our way through the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Smith, let’s look at the frozen moment in our minds eye.

Risks of Lung Cancer Exposed!

1.    As we shared with you in our most recent blog, anyone is subject to potentially developing lung cancer.  So, in our mannequin challenge scene, we see about a dozen men, women and children of various ages.  The scene is a cut-away house and we can see the kitchen, parlor, den and part of two bedrooms.  The camera swings into the corner of the living room first and we see grandmother fondly and sleepily gazing at two preschool grand- children playing at her feet.  At this point, we pause and recognize that most people diagnosed with lung cancer are at the average age of 65-70 years old, according to statistics.

2.   On the couch at center stage of our scene is Grand-Dad, who has just fallen asleep with his pipe still in his mouth, and in spite of the chaos around him.

3.   Seemingly oblivious that he is sleeping, his son, age 47, is frozen amid shouting a cheer at him, and we see the lit cigarette in his hand as he gestures toward the football game on the television.

We pause our “camera’s eye” and reflect upon the fact that smoking, according to the CDC, “is the number one risk factor for lung cancer.  In the United States, cigarette smoking is linked to about 80% to 90% of lung cancers.”  And even as we move through this domestic scene, we also note, “Using other tobacco products such as cigars or pipes also increases the risk for lung cancer.”

A Big Lung Cancer Risk:  Smoking!  If You Smoke, Quit!

We wish we could tell both of these men that “Tobacco smoke is a toxic mix of more than 7,000 chemicals.”  So, here at the top of our list of risky behavior,  Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists, put smoking.  Our camera tilts slowly behind the couch, where we see a little girl playing.  She is getting second hand smoke, which is also a lung cancer risk.

4.   The camera zooms slowly out into the foreground in front of the couch where we spy two boys, one a pre-teen and one a teen-ager.   They are also watching the football game and cheering, just like their father.

But the slow motion camera leads us toward the vented air duct in the wall, above their heads.  We see tiny fibers of old asbestos drifting down on the unsuspecting family.  Yes, breathing asbestos-laced air is another lung cancer risk.

5.  Our camera pauses in the kitchen doorway where Mrs. Smith has been finishing the dishes and showing a neighbor a magazine article about radon.

Radon imposes another risk of lung cancer on us.  Radon occurs naturally in stone and soil.  Mrs. Smith and her friend are discussing having their homes tested, which is actually a good idea.

Radon Risk:  Get Your Home Tested!

6.   The camera for our mannequin moment sweeps across the room and focuses on a great uncle who is telling long haul trucking stories to Alex Jones’ grandson.

His animated face reflects the excitement of his 30 year career as a diesel truck mechanic.  Unfortunately, his lungs probably have fought to breathe in an environment filled with air pollution such as diesel engine exhaust.  He is at high risk for lung cancer.

7.    A pretty young career girl, Alex’s youngest daughter has been startled by the excitement over the game.  The book falling from her lap as she has risen from the chair is a family album.

As she looked at the old photographs, she has just noticed that her great grand-parents both died of lung cancer, just like her oldest brother.  She does not yet realize that such a family history of the disease increases her risk of also getting lung cancer.

So, who has been challenged with this mannequin challenge moment?

First of all, we challenge the public to become aware of all the lung cancer risks we have put in this scenario.  Secondly, FLASS boldly challenges lung cancer itself!  With research, advocacy, and public awareness, we hope to see the risks in our little story diminish in the near future.

Thank you for reading our FLASS blog this week!