Extremely High Rates!
According to the American Cancer Society, “lung cancer makes up 14% of all newly diagnosed cancers in the USA today. It adds that annually, more patients die from lung cancer alone than prostate, breast and colon cancers combined (in the USA).”
The scientists of the UK have claimed that “female lung cancer deaths will reach 95,000 annually in 2040, from 26,000 in 2010 – a rise of more than 350%. Male annual lung cancer deaths will increase by 8% over the same period, to 42,000 in 2040 from 39,000 in 2010.” As per the scientists, lung cancer will be the biggest reason for the deaths for many decades to come.
Deadly For Women
In the U.S. each year more women are diagnosed with breast cancer than lung cancer. Thus the deaths from breast cancer should be more than lung cancer but that’s not it. “That’s because breast cancer is often caught at earlier stages than lung cancer and a greater proportion of breast cancers are curable,” tells Antonoff.
Leaving It All On The Doctor
People usually assume that regular checkups can help them diagnose any disease at an early stage. But that’s not the case, even a clear smoking test can at times not identify lung cancer. As per the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, anyone should get the screening done if they qualify any of the below-mentioned conditions:
- A current smoker or quit within the last 15 years
- Between the ages of 55 and 80
- And have smoked the equivalent of a pack a day for 30 years (or 2 packs a day for 15 years, or any permutation thereof)
The Earlier The Better
Antonoff clarifies it as “it’s a misconception that an x-ray will catch early lung cancer. A CT scan has greater sensitivity to reveal early-stage tumors or pre-cancerous lesions, and getting an early stage diagnosis gives you the best shot at a cure. And remember that having a clear scan doesn’t mean you can keep smoking. Every day you don’t smoke can decrease your risk of developing lung cancer.”
It’s Not Too Late
People who quit smoking as soon as diagnosed with lung cancer. The benefits of quitting cigarettes are instant. The circulation will improve and the risk of lung cancer will decrease. The improvement of quitting smoking is that after 10 years of quitting the risk will lower down by 50%.
Coughing?
Just like most of the cancer patients have smoked at some point in their lives, but not all patients diagnosed are smokers. Coughing is the common symptom for it, but not all the people diagnosed with cancer suffer from a cough, some people don’t cough at all and yet are diagnosed.