Lung cancer: why it’s not just smokers who have it, why it is often diagnosed late and how to lower your risk of it if you smoke – by quitting, no matter how old you are
- Nine in 10 people who get lung cancer are tobacco users or are exposed to second-hand smoke, but air pollution and asbestos exposure are among other causes
- The good news for smokers is that quitting lowers the risk of lung cancer, even if they are in their 60s and 70s, and brings improvements in chronic conditions
World Cancer Day is February 4 and that makes this the ideal time to talk about lung cancer and smoking.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths globally and the World Health Organization estimates that 90 per cent of cases could be prevented by eliminating tobacco use.
People who smoke are at the greatest risk. Smokeless tobacco is also associated with lung cancer. And lung cancer can occur in people who do not use tobacco.
“That’s one of the misconceptions,” says Dr Aaron Mansfield, an oncologist at the US-based Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who specialises in lung cancer.
“Although tobacco use is clearly the largest risk factor to develop lung cancer, there are many other risk factors, and risk factors we don’t know. All you need to be at risk of developing lung cancer is a lung.”
