Lung Cancer is the #1 Cancer Killer in the World
It is time to eliminate the stigma of lung cancer!
Every two minutes, someone in the world is diagnosed with it.
Lung cancer matters, too.
Smokers and former smokers do not deserve lung cancer.
And, you do not have to smoke to get it.
Lung cancer kills more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney,
and melanoma cancers...combined.
30% of all cancer mortality is due to lung cancer.
Each year in the United States, lung cancer in never-smokers
kills more people than AIDS.
Yet, it receives a mere fraction of the attention and research funding.
Lung cancer is responsible for 30% of all cancer deaths.
EVERY THREE MINUTES, someone in the United States is diagnosed.
It kills nearly 450 Americans EVERY DAY.
In 2009, approximately 220,000 Americans will be diagnosed
with lung cancer and 160,000 will die of it.
It kills nearly THREE TIMES as many men as prostate cancer.
Lung Cancer is a "Contemporary Epidemic in American Women".
It kills nearly TWICE as many women as breast cancer.
It surpassed breast cancer as the #1 cancer killer of women in 1987.
U.S. Lung Cancer Estimates, 2009* | NEW CASES | DEATHS |
Women | 103,350 | 70,490 |
Men | 116,090 | 88,900 |
TOTAL | 219,440 | 159,390 |
*U.S. Mortality Data, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009
Quitting Smoking Will Greatly Improve Your Health,
but It Will Not Cure Lung Cancer.
You do NOT have to smoke to get lung cancer.
65% of new cases are diagnosed in former smokers and those who have NEVER touched a cigarette
in their lives AND THIS NUMBER IS RISING.
The focus on lung cancer – from the American Cancer Society to the Federal Government to other public health organizations – has been on smoking prevention and cessation. This is EXTREMELY important. The best way to reduce your risk is to NEVER START SMOKING and to QUIT if you do smoke.
HOWEVER, if everyone quit smoking today, lung cancer would STILL be a public health issue for thirty or forty years. Lung cancer in NEVER-smokers is still the SIXTH LARGEST cancer killer in the world.
Nonsmoking-related causes of lung cancer include Genetics, Air pollution (as high a cancer risk as living with a smoker), Radon (the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer, after tobacco smoke), and Exposure to asbestos, uranium, arsenic, diesel fuel and other carcinogens.
Screening & Diagnosis Are Major Challenges.
In its early stages, lung cancer is often symptomless.
Symptoms can include persistent cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, hoarseness,
recurrent pneumonia & bronchitis, fatigue, and weight loss.
Lung cancer does not respond to most existing therapies.
3 out of 5 patients diagnosed with lung cancer will die within 12 months.
The five-year survival rate of lung cancer is only 15%. Breast cancer has a 87% five-year survival rate. Prostate cancer's five-year survival rate is 99%.
Help us change all this.
THE LATEST DATA FROM LUNG CANCER ALLIANCE CAN BE FOUND HERE.