Julia Carson, congresswoman, told the Indianapolis Star yesterday that she has terminal cancer. She explained that her cancer had previously gone into remission, but has returned with a "terminal vengeance".

Carson opposed the 2002 Iraq war resolution. She strived to honor Rosa Parks, the civil rights figure.

Julia Carson - Biography

Born
July 8th, 1938, in Louisville, Kentucky, to a single teenage mother. Her family was poor, and Carson, as a youngster waited tables, delivered newspapers, and worked as a farm hand.

Religion
Baptist

Education
Indiana University 1970-1972. She was also at the College of St. Mary in the Woods.

Career

Today
United States Congressional Representative, Indiana Tenth Congressional District, Democratic Party member.

1998
Re-elected in the face of national Republican Party targeting

1996
Elected to U.S. Congress

1991-1996
Center Township Trustee and administrator of Indianapolis-area welfare payments

1976-1990
Indiana Senate, member

1973- 1996
Cummins Electric Co., director of human resources

1972-1976
Indiana House of Representatives, member

1965-1972
Office of U.S. Representative Andy Jacobs, caseworker and aide

1962-1963
United Auto Workers local office, secretary

Julia Carson, who was often underestimated by her political opponents, was an astute campaigner. She is a strong advocate of government social programs, and continued to be so during the budget-cutting 1990s. She became well known for implementing a program that required welfare recipients to work for their benefits when she was a county official.

What is Lung Cancer?

With Lung cancer, the cancer itself begins in the cells of the lungs. We have two lungs, one on either side of the heart. The right lung has three lobes (compartments) while the left lung has two. As we breathe in, air goes into our nose/mouth and throat and makes its way past the larynx (voice box) and into the trachea (windpipe). The windpipe forks into two tubes, called the right and left bronchi, which feed air into each lung. In the lung the tubes get smaller and smaller (bronchioles) until they get to the alveoli (air sacs). The alveoli feed oxygen to the blood and collect waste from the blood. We get rid of the waste when we breathe out (exhale).

There are 2 main types of lung cancer

-- non-small cell lung cancer (the most common)
-- small cell lung cancer

Each type is treated differently.

There are 3 types of non-small cell lung cancer

-- adenocarcinoma
-- squamous cell carcinoma
-- large cell undifferentiated carcinoma

Non-small cell lung cancer can start anywhere in the lungs.

There are also 3 types of small cell lung cancer

-- small cell carcinoma
-- mixed small cell/large cell
-- combined small cell carcinoma

These cancers usually start in the cells of the bronchi, the bronchioles, the alveoli or the supporting tissues of the lung.

Risk factors
Signs and symptoms
Diagnosis
Staging
Treatment
In-depth information on lung cancer