Both Smokers And Non-smokers Get Lung Cancer
Did you know that smokers and non-smokers alike could bag lung cancer? The American Cancer Society estimates that almost 214,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, and about 25,000 are people that never smoked. I am not trying to suggest that smoking is not a problem, but that we are all at risk and especially women. Two-thirds of the non-smokers that get lung cancer will be women.
I am a cancer survivor. I had an advanced stage of breast cancer and soon became aware of all the charities, fund raising and national support for woman fighting breast cancer. Sadly, I also became aware of the lack of emotional or financial assist for people with lung cancer. Usually, one of the first questions people ask them is, “Oh so you were a smoker then? ” That insinuates that they deserved to get cancer, and is just insulting. Regardless of whether someone smokes or not, they don’t deserve cancer. None of us do.
According to Cure Magazine (summer issue 2007), “Many clinicians say they are seeing more and more cases of lung cancer in never-smokers.” So whether you smoke or not, it could happen to you. Cure magazine also reveals that 70% of non-smokers get a type of lung cancer called adenocarcinoma. It is a cancer that usually forms on the edge of the lung and is a non-small cell lung cancer which is slower to grow and less likely to spread. Researchers mild need to seek lung cancer more to fully understand its causes. Research is ongoing to study additional causes of lung cancer such as estrogen receptors, human Papilloma virus, hereditary, race and sex. Prognosis for adenocarcinoma is a little better than with some types of lung cancer. According to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America some symptoms of lung cancer to watch out for may include a persistent cough, chest pain or shortness of breath. Some ways to cleave your chance of getting lung cancer would be to not smoke, stay away from second-hand smoke, try to avoid cooking fumes, asbestos, radon gas and other cancer causing chemicals.
According to CNN (source) “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, among both men and women. It claims more lives than colon, prostate, lymph and breast cancer combined.” Please consider this and next time you would like to volunteer your time or donate to a cancer related charity, I hope you will remember the people suffering from lung cancer, because no one deserves cancer.
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