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August 27, 2018

Mercy Medical Center’s Dr. Laki Rousou honored as LUNG FORCE Hero

REGIONAL
Staff report

Dr. Laki Rousou (IObserve photo/courtesy of Mercy Medical Center)

 

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – The American Lung Association has announced that Dr. Laki Rousou, medical director of the lung cancer screening program and the robotic surgery program at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, has been named a LUNG FORCE Hero for his commitment to making a difference in the community for individuals living with lung cancer.

“Our LUNG FORCE Heroes are such a vital part of the Lung Association’s effort to build awareness and education about lung cancer,” said Jeff Seyler, chief division officer of the American Lung Association. “Dr. Rousou’s dedication to his patients and to the extended community has been instrumental to saving lives. Going forward, as our LUNG FORCE hero, his medical expertise and continued advocacy will undoubtedly help us to defeat this devastating disease.”

Dr. Rousou is a thoracic surgeon. He trained in general surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center and completed a research fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/West Roxbury VA Hospital – Harvard Medical School. He then completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Yale New Haven Hospital/Yale Medical School.

Dr. Rousou is board certified in general surgery and thoracic surgery with broad expertise in diseases of the chest and abdomen. His particular interests are on lung cancer and minimally invasive/robotic surgery for the treatment of thoracic surgical diseases. He is a native of western Massachusetts.

Dr. Rousou was a speaker at the 2018 Springfield LUNG FORCE New Hope, presented in partnership with Mercy Medical Center, which aimed to educate healthcare professionals about lung cancer screening, innovations in lung cancer treatment, and lung disease management. Mercy Medical Center also participated in the 2018 LUNG FORCE Walk Hartford, part of the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE movement, which aims to raise funds for research, awareness around early detection, and advance advocacy and education for lung cancer, particularly around the high rate of lung cancer in women. LUNG FORCE is recognized nationwide and includes 38 walks in 25 states in 2018.

As an official LUNG FORCE Hero, Dr. Rousou will become a storyteller for the Lung Association, and a voice for awareness, research and education on lung cancer.

Today, lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of women, killing one woman every seven minutes in the United States. The LUNG FORCE movement focuses on encouraging women to speak to their doctors early, because survival rates are five times higher when lung cancer is detected early.  Fewer than half of all women diagnosed with lung cancer survive one year after diagnosis, and yet, according to new research from the American Lung Association’s Women’s Lung Health Barometer, only 2 percent of women identify lung cancer as a cancer that is top-of-mind for them. 

LUNG FORCE also works to educate the public on lung disease, early detection methods and general lung health. The movement aims to show that lung cancer does not discriminate and can affect anyone.

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