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November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States
each year than any other form of cancer - more than breast, prostate,
colon, liver, kidney and melanoma cancers combined. Over 170,000 Americans
will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year. Smokers are not the only
ones at risk for this disease. Over 60% of new lung cancers are diagnosed
in people who never smoked or who managed to quit smoking even decades
ago.
About Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer is a disease that begins in the tissue of
the lungs. The lungs are sponge-like organs that are part of the respiratory
system. During breathing, air enters the mouth or nasal passage and travels
down the trachea. The trachea splits into two sets of bronchial tubes
that lead to the left and right lung. The bronchi branch off into smaller
and smaller tubes that eventually end in small balloon-like sacs known
as alveoli. The alveoli are where oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other substances
are exchanged between the lungs and the blood stream.
The vast majority of Lung Cancer cases fall into one of two different
categories:
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer is the most common type of Lung Cancer,
making up nearly 80% of all cases. This type of Lung Cancer grows and
spreads more slowly than small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer
is divided into three different subcategories. Squamous cell carcinoma
originates in the thin, flat cells that line the passages of the respiratory
tract. Adenocarcinoma begins in the cells that form the lining of the
lungs. Large cell carcinomas make up a group of cancers that look large
and abnormal under a microscope.
Small Cell Lung Cancer makes up nearly 20% of all Lung Cancer
cases. It is associated with cancer cells smaller in size than most other
cancer cells. These cells may be small, but they can rapidly reproduce
to form large tumors. Their size and quick rate of reproduction allows
them to spread to the lymph nodes and to other organs of the body. This
type of Lung Cancer is almost always caused by smoking or second hand
smoke.
Facts
- Lung cancer will kill three times as many men as prostate cancer
this year
- Lung cancer will kill two times as many women as breast cancer this
year
- Over 50% of new lung cancer cases will be diagnosed at a very late
stage-Stage IIIb or IV- and only 5% of them will live for 5 years.
- Smoking puts you at increased risk for lung cancer. Even if you quit
smoking, you remain at an elevated risk.
- Current smokers: 35-40% of new lung cancer cases
- Former smokers: 50% of new lung cancer cases
- Never smoked: 10-15% of new lung cancer cases
- While funding for cancer research has resulted in better
survival rates among most types of cancer, the underfunding
of lung cancer research has resulted in almost no improvement
in lung cancer survival rates during the past 30 years.
Risk Factors
- Age: the probability of getting lung cancer increases with
increasing age
- Smoking: About 85% of all lung cancers are in people who are
or have been smokers. Cigar smoking and pipe smoking are almost as likely
to cause lung cancer as cigarette smoking.
- Extended exposure to secondhand or passive smoke: 3,060 lung
cancer deaths a year are attributable to secondhand smoke (Source: CDC)
- Marijuana use: Many of the cancer-causing substances in tobacco
are also found in marijuana. In addition, it is not possible to control
whether marijuana contains fungi, pesticides, and other additives since
it is an illegal substance.
- Extended exposure to other chemicals such as asbestos, radon,
radioactive ores, inhaled chemicals or minerals, fuels such as gasoline,
and diesel exhaust.
- Radiation therapy to the lung
- Recurring inflammation of the lung from diseases such as emphysema,
COPD, or tuberculosis
- Family history of lung cancer/genetics
Events
Frankly Speaking About Lung Cancer
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
6:00-8:30pm
Gilda's Club North Texas
Dallas, TX
Frankly Speaking About Lung Cancer: Take Control of Side Effects With
Medicine, Mind and Body is a free education seminar presented by Gilda's
Club North Texas. Barry Levinson, MD from UT Southwestern Medical Center
and Tabetha Spence, RN, OCN from Arlington Cancer Center, will provide
the most current information about the diagnosis, staging and treatment
of lung cancer including novel therapies and side effect management. This
unique seminar is an opportunity for people with lung cancer and their
loved ones to gather vital information for informed treatment decisions
and ways to improve the quality of life after lung cancer treatment. For
details and registration, call Gilda's Club North Texas at 214-219-8877.
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