DAVENPORT, Iowa - Nov. 12, 2015 -- Genesis will provide visitors with an interactive, educational experience about the respiratory system to raise awareness about smoking on Thursday, Nov. 19 for the annual Great American Smokeout.
From 8 a.m.-3 p.m. visitors will be able to step inside the inflatable human lung model, learn about the various structures and normal lung functions, observe examples of lung trauma and disease, and view displays explaining some of the latest respiratory medical treatments.The MEGA Lung is approximately 12 feet high by 15 feet wide by 10 feet long.
The MEGA Lung showcases common defects, current respiratory treatment options, and healthy and diseased lung tissue related to Asthma, Bronchitis, Lung cancer, Pulmonary embolism, Pneumonia, and Emphysema.
From 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Genesis will also be providing free lung function screenings. There will also be information about low-dose CT scans for smokers who qualify, and information about smoking cessation available from Genesis.
There will be a prize wheel for visitors who have the correct answer to a question about cancer prevention and screening.
The event will be held in the atrium of Pavilion I, Genesis Medical Center, West Central Park, in Davenport.
Wendy Ballou RN, Cancer Nurse Navigator for the Genesis Cancer Care Institute, said the free pulmonary function screening will provide patients with an important baseline of their breathing function. Individuals being screened will be asked to breathe into a mouthpiece that measures function.
"The test is not only for smokers, but it is especially important for smokers or former smokers to have a baseline like this,'' Ballou said. "This type of test is a way to determine whether there is an abnormal breathing function. Quite often, it is a cigarette smoker who suffers loss of lung function, and cigarette smoking is the most important risk factor in developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.''
The American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout challenges people to stop using tobacco and raises awareness of effective methods for quitting. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in five Americans, or 17.8%, smoke. By gender, 20.5 percent of American males and 15.3 percent of females smoke.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for more than 440,000 deaths, or one of every five deaths, in the United States each year.
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