The Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio and Wellbeing Services at The University of Texas at San Antonio co-hosted an event at UTSA’s main campus in observance of the Great American Smokeout and Eliminate Tobacco Use day on November 17. The event featured MEGA Lungs, which gives visitors a highly interactive, educational experience about the respiratory system's most critical organs. Attendees step inside the human lung model, learn about the various structures and normal lung functions, observe examples of lung trauma and disease, and view displays explaining some of the latest respiratory medical treatments.
UTSA's students, faculty and staff also had the opportunity to visit with 10 different vendors that were disseminating tobacco/vaping cessation, lung cancer and lung cancer screening information. Two pulmonologists attended the event and were available to answer any questions.
The event reached approximately 250 students. “Overall, it was a great way to engage students on the dangers of tobacco and vaping use, as well as lung cancer,” said Dolores Garcia of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. UT Health San Antonio plans on hosting a lung cancer event next year with hopes to draw an even larger campus audience.
