The National Cancer Institute reports that more than 200,000 new cases and roughly 160,000 lung cancer-related deaths have occurred in the Unites States so far this year, and an estimated 1 million worldwide deaths will occur by the end of 2007.

In Maryland, there are about 488 lung cancer diagnoses and 203 deaths a year, and the numbers are rising.

Lung cancer is the leading killer of men and women in the United States, and it causes more deaths per year than the next three most common cancers (colon, breast, and prostate) combined.

Though many of us know that regular mammograms, pap smears, and colonoscopies are...