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Unexpected weight loss leads to lung cancer diagnosis for non-smoker
UCLA Health Connect blog
Post Date:December 06, 2022 10:00 AM
FacultyJane Yanagawa
Diana Wei was vigilant about maintaining her health, so she was particularly shocked when she received a cancer diagnosis. (Photo by Joshua Sudock/UCLA Health)
Diana Wei was pretty happy when she lost 5 pounds without trying.
But when her weight kept dropping, despite maintaining her regular diet and exercise routine, she started to worry a little. It was probably stress, she reasoned. She and her husband moved from New York to Los Angeles just as the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting things down across the country in March of 2020. Then she started a new job.
What happened next led to an unexpected diagnosis, and the number of patients diagnosed with lung cancer who have never smoked has increased significantly in recent decades, says thoracic surgeon Jane Yanagawa, MD, a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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