Healthy Lung Month is recognized in October as a time to encourage all to avoid smoking cigarettes and stay physically active to keep your lungs healthy. To learn more about the importance of these topics as well as lung cancer screenings, we spoke with Mountainside Medical Center’s Dr. Juhayna Davis.

How badly can smoking affect the lungs?

Tobacco kills. People who use tobacco products have a higher chance to suffer from respiratory symptoms, develop diseases and die at a younger age.

How can people strengthen their lung health?

Exercising is the best way to strengthen the lungs. Performing 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five days a week can significantly decrease respiratory symptoms. At Mountainside Medical Center, our Cardiac Fitness Center can help.

What is the best way to improve lung health?

One of the most important things to do is to avoid tobacco in any form. Lung health can be improved based upon the underlying condition, which needs to be identified and then treated. Here at Mountainside Medical Center, our physicians and staff can help you on that journey.

What are some ways patients can benefit from respiratory services at Mountainside?

At Mountainside Medical Center, we offer a variety of respiratory services starting with our Department of Pulmonary Medicine where our physicians can make recommendations tailored to your specific needs. The Department of Radiology is available for chest imaging, including our Lung Nodule Screening Program. The Department of Respiratory Therapy performs pulmonary function testing, blood gases and pulmonary rehabilitation. These Departments work hand-in-hand with the rest of our hospital’s team, including our Oncologists and Thoracic Surgeons, to provide complete lung care to our community.  

How important is lung cancer screening?

A recently released study shows that Lung Cancer Screening saves lives. Lung cancer screenings are recommended for individuals between the ages of 55-77 who have smoked, on average, a pack of cigarettes a day for at least 30 years and either still smoke or quit less than 15 years ago. Mountainside has a wonderful lung cancer screening program with a team of physicians who review each individual’s history, low-dose CT Chest images and risk for cancer, and a referral is not needed. The team follows national and international guidelines and makes recommendations directly to the patient.

You can schedule your own lung cancer screening at Mountainside Medical Center, just call 973-429-6444 or visit mountainsidehosp.com/lung.