Lung Cancer Awareness month

Lung Cancer Awareness month

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and with it, renewed interest in what is still the most diagnosed cancer in the world when both sexes are combined. Recent statistics show that about 2.5 million new cases are discovered each year, representing one in eight cancers worldwide (12%).

In the United States, lung cancer accounts for about 11% of all new cancer diagnoses (about 227,000 cases per year). While most lung cancers are attributed to smoking, the disease also strikes an increasing number of people who never smoked (20,000-40,000 cases per year).

One alarming statistic is that among never-smokers (defined as having smoked less than 100 cigarettes), females had a 54% higher risk for developing lung cancer compared to their male counterparts.

Studies show that secondhand (environmental) tobacco smoke, outdoor and indoor air pollution, and genetic susceptibility (family history and genomic variants such as EGFR mutations and ALK gene rearrangements) are risk factors for lung cancer in non/never-smokers. These represent 15-20% of all lung cancers worldwide!
In India, lung cancer prevalence is increasing in non smokers , women .

According to the American Lung Association, less than a third of lung cancers are diagnosed at an early stage. Progression is often silent, and by the time symptoms such as cough, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath are taken seriously by patients and health care professionals, the disease has often progressed. Not surprisingly, it has one of the lowest five-year survival rates of all cancers and remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide.

All of the above are reasons enough to increase the public’s awareness of lung cancer.

If we are to fight lung cancer effectively, November and every month should be lung cancer awareness month. It is crucial for all health care providers to recognize the dangers of this disease and the need for people at risk to enroll in newly developing lung cancer screening programs. Both specialists and primary care providers should never neglect the possibility of lung cancer in non-smokers, including in men and women under the age of sixty-five. We should evaluate further with CT chest , PET scan , biopsy if we are suspecting lung malignancy in an individual.

Let’s make world Lung cancer free ! Let’s Unite to Fight against Lung Cancer!

Dr. Pravin Taware
Dr. Aditi Shah

Aeris Clinic Of Allergy Chest & Sleep Care , Matunga East, Mumbai