Lung cancer continues to be one of the most common cancers worldwide, claiming more lives yearly than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. It is estimated that lung cancer accounts for nearly one in five cancer deaths globally. In 2017, there were 2.8 million newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer alone. This is where World Lung Cancer Day helps to bring awareness and special focused attention to the risks, dangers, and hindrances of living with lung cancer. Join many worldwide organizations on August 1st to help spread awareness and educate people about their risks for developing this type of cancer.
World Lung Cancer day began as a grassroots effort started by a lung cancer patient who survived and embraced the lung cancer community, vowing to help raise awareness to find a cure. It is a day designed to celebrate survivors, memorialize those who lost their battle, and spread awareness to the general public about lung cancer.
Did you know that lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer worldwide, and has been for more than a decade?
- Lung cancer is responsible for one in five cancer related deaths.
- Lung cancer claims more lives yearly than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined.
- The highest statistical rates of lung cancer are in North American and Europe.
- The lowest rates of lung cancer occur in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
Help raise awareness and share facts with your family, friends and coworkers!
- Of more than 7 million current and former heavy smokers eligible for screening, only 1.9% underwent screening in 2016, according to an analysis of national screening sites.
- A new screening tool, the HUNT Lung Cancer Risk Model, predicted lung cancer with almost eighty-eight percent accuracy.
- Three prototype sequencing assays effectively detected early-stage lung cancer among a subset of patients included in the Circulating Cell-free Genome Atlas study.
- Age-specific incidence of lung cancer decreased among both men and women aged thirty to fifty-four years across all races and ethnicities. However, declines were larger among men, indicating a reversal in the historically higher incidence of lung cancer among men compared with non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women born since the mid-1960s.
- More than ninety percent of teenagers living in economically disadvantaged areas in and around San Francisco had one-butanol urine screens that showed exposure to tobacco.
- The use of upfront next-generation sequencing was more cost-effective and faster than single-gene testing methods among patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
- The presence of a “pivot nurse” to provide continuity of care significantly improved satisfaction and quality of life for patients with advanced lung cancer.
There are many health factors that contribute to increasing your risk for developing lung cancer. Smoking is one of the top known direct links to cancer. Some of the other, more unknown risk increasers are:
- Things in your environment like radon, asbestos, arsenic, and uranium have all been linked to lung cancer.
- Radiation increases the risk of lung cancer.
- Diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema, along with tuberculosis can increase your overall risk.
- Any other diagnosis of cancer anywhere in your body automatically increases your risks.
- Lung cancer risk increases with age. Less than ten percent of cancers affect those patients who are under fifty years old.
It would be beneficial for everyone to know what the warning signs and symptoms are of lung cancer. Recognizing the signs and symptoms can lead to early detection and successful cancer treatment. Most all cancer are best treated with early diagnosis. Watch for these signs signaling your body may be dealing with lung cancer:
- Pain in bones
- Unintentional weight loss
- Hoarseness
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing up blood or rust-tinged phlegm
- A persistent, or worsening cough that lasts for weeks
If you suspect that you may be experiencing the symptoms of lung cancer, do not wait to make an appointment for testing and possible treatment. Early detection is the key to successful cancer treatment and simplifies the entire process.
Citations:
American Cancer Society
National Institutes of Health and Human Services