Zhao Xiaogang, a chest surgeon at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, recently had his English poem about the development of lung diseases published in CHEST, a widely recognized American journal of cutting-edge original medical research.
Zhao is the first Chinese doctor to have a medical poem published in the magazine. His poem, I Long To Be King, shows how a minor lung disease can develop into fatal lung cancer.
The poem suggests that smog, smoking and staying up late all tend to harm one's lungs, leading to diseases or cancer.
Official statistics show that the fatality rate of lung cancer is the highest of cancers in China, with 569,000 annual cases around China.
Zhao also said that lung cancer is becoming more common among younger patients now, which he suggests is closely connected to deteriorating air quality.
