For Dignity Health's Hello Healthy podcast, Eric Peck, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon with Dignity Health Medical Group — Bakersfield discusses recent research that explains a rise of lung cancer in women under 50 years of age and the surgical treatment options available for lung cancer patients. Read the interview transcript below.

Lung cancer claims more lives than colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. Historically, lung cancer has been more common in older adults and diagnosed at an advanced stage. Younger women, however, are getting lung cancer at higher rates than men younger than 50, according to a report published in JAMA Oncology.

Costanzo DiPerna, MD a thoracic surgeon with Dignity Health Mercy Medical Group, shares insight and resources to help people understand risks, prevention, treatment options and the dangerous long-term effects of using modern “e-cigarettes.”

We’re pleased to share that our Dignity Health Mercy Medical Group Otolaryngologists, also known as Ear Nose and Throat specialists (ENTs), performed their 50th Inspire procedure. Congratulations to Scott McCusker, MD; Deanne Nyland, MD; Shoab Siddique, MD and Mike Desy, OR technician on achieving this milestone.

When Kern County resident, Kimberly Marchant first found out she had a blood clot in her heart that needed to be removed, her first thought was “I don’t know how I’m going to do this.” Kimberly was thinking about how she would manage the recovery from open-heart surgery, the proposed treatment for her condition.

National Women Physicians Day on February 3rd commemorates the birthday of Elizabeth Blackwell, MD, the first woman in the United States to become a doctor. As we reflect on and celebrate the achievements of women in medicine, we asked our providers to share what inspired them to choose a career in healing and humankindness. Here is what they said.