2 weeks Ago By Kevin Wallevand
FARGO — A Jamestown man has a message about smoking as he successfully takes on a recent lung cancer diagnosis; his second in three years. Tony Hagan, 71, is proof that if caught early, and the smoking habit is kicked, results can be promising. After 15 years of visits, Hagan has a special relationship with his provider.
"You were the exception to that, " Dr. Bradly Skari, Sanford Jamestown physician, said, laughing. "I trust him with my life," Hagan, who just finished his cancer treatment, said.
But Hagan, who spent years as a truck driver, is waiting to see if recent radiation for lung cancer worked. It's the second time he's fought it. He was first diagnosed four years ago, successfully treated.
But because Hagan has been getting yearly scans to monitor his cancer, this recurrence has been found early. "Lung cancer is notoriously awful because when it is found a lot of the time it is Stage 3 and 4, which is hard to treat and so by doing these scans on a regular basis, we can catch the cancer early and do something about it," Skari said. "I tell you what, like I said, without those scans, I may not be here today," Hagan said.
Tony stopped smoking 11 years ago. "Doctors have told me, 'You gotta quit smoking, you gotta quit smoking.' Did I listen? No, I was too stubborn of an Irishman," Tony said, laughing.
Doctors said there was no other option. "I am going to be very honest, you know what got me to quit? The cost, they are $10 and $11 a pack. I can't afford that anymore," Hagan said.
That decision to quit, along with good medical advice and surveillance have kept the over-the-road trucker moving along. About 234,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year. In 1965, nearly half of all adults smoked.
That has fallen to 11%..
