BARABOO, Wis. -- In a month where veterans are remembered and honored, doctors say they are treating more veterans with lung cancer.

Dave Grant of Baraboo served for 20 years as a medical technician for the Army.

Like many young men in the service in the early 1960s he picked up a pack-a-day smoking habit and eventually lung cancer.

"The drill instructors would say, 'Take five, light'em up if you got 'em,' and after five minutes I looked around and the non-smokers never got a break."

Grant recalls his early days in the Army when smoking was the social norm.

Statistics from the Department of Agriculture illustrate how cigarette consumption spiked during World War I and World War II.

That is when servicemen got cigarette rations and encouragement to light up to stay alert on the job.

Doctors say they're treating those consequences today, a process with fewer treatment options for many veterans with lung cancer.

"Sometime in the veteran population we aren't able to operate on them because their so-called normal lung is too diseased," said UW clinical assistant professor Dr. Deepak Khuntia. "Where they can tolerate normal standard treatment."

Grant was lucky; he was strong enough for two operations and chemotherapy treatment.

Other vets have had to resort to radiation treatments.

"I live one day at a time and try to make the best of every day I get because I look at every day I get as a bonus," said Grant.

Grant is happy to report that he's in stable condition for now, which means the cancer isn't growing or spreading.

Since his diagnosis in 2001, Grant has gotten active raising thousands of dollars for cancer research and treatment and organized support groups for lung cancer patients.