Lung cancer remains one of the most common cancers worldwide, claiming more lives each year than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined. World Lung Cancer Day is presented as a good opportunity to raise awareness about lung cancer, highlighting key risk factors, as well as detection and treatment options.
In it, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS ) commemorates, celebrates and supports all people affected by lung cancer.
The idea is to raise awareness about lung cancer and its global impact, building an educational movement to understand lung cancer risks, as well as early treatment around the world.
The facts
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, with 1.8 million new cases and 1.6 deaths in 2012 alone.
Lung cancer is responsible for almost 1 in 5 global deaths (1.59 million deaths, 19.4% of the total).
The highest estimated rates of lung cancer are found in North America (33.8) and Northern Europe (23.7), with a relatively high rate in East Asia (19.2) and the lowest rates in Africa. Western and Medium (1.1 and 0.8 respectively).
Risk factors for lung cancer include passive exposure to smoke snuff, biomass fuels, diesel exhaust, radon, asbestos and other environmental carcinogens and in the workplace.
Lung cancer has a five-year survival rate (17.7 percent) that is lower than many other major cancer sites, such as colon (64.4 percent), breast (89, 7 percent) or prostate (98.9 percent).
Early detection of lung cancer can save lives
Although the rate of new lung cancer cases has decreased in recent years along with the rate of smoking, lung cancer still accounts for more deaths than any other cancer in both men and women, according to the American Cancer Society.
Therefore, it is important to learn about the disease: who is at risk, as it is not only people who smoke tobacco: how it is treated and why early detection is the best defense.
What Causes Lung Cancer?
Smoking is responsible for 80% of all lung cancer cases . Here are some of the leading causes of lung cancer among nonsmokers:
– Exposure to radon gas released from soil and building materials.
– Exposure to asbestos, diesel exhaust, or industrial chemicals.
– Exposure to second-hand smoke (as it increases the risk of non-smoking lung cancer by up to 20 to 30%)
– The air pollution
And although any of these factors can cause lung cancer on their own, the disease is often the result of several factors that interact with each other.
For example, according to the National Institutes of Health, there is an increased risk of lung cancer when smokers are also exposed to radon gas. Other studies have shown that the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person’s risk of developing lung cancer compared to non-smoking workers and smokers who are not exposed to asbestos.
According to another study, occupational exposures such as asbestos, uranium, and coke (a type of fuel used in foundries, blast furnaces, and foundries) can also increase a person’s risk of dying from lung cancer.
