Lung Cancer is the #1 Cancer Killer in the United States (1, 8)
- More Americans die from lung cancer each year than colon, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers combined.
- 160,000 Americans died of lung cancer in 2009.
- 437 Americans die from lung cancer every day.
- Lung cancer accounted for 15% of all new cancers diagnoses, but 28% of all cancer deaths in 2009.
- Only 16% of lung cancer is being diagnosed at its earliest and most curable stage.
Lung Cancer is a “Contemporary Epidemic in Women” & Their #1 Cancer Killer (1,2,3,4)
- Lung cancer kills more women each year than breast, uterine and ovarian cancers combined.
- Lung cancer surpassed breast cancer as the #1 cancer killer of women in 1987.
- Twice as many women will die of lung cancer as of breast cancer this year.
- 5-year survival rates
- breast cancer 89%
- prostate cancer 99%
- colon cancer 65%
- lung cancer 15%
- The rate of lung cancer among women has risen 60% since 1990.
Stopping Smoking Will Improve Your Health, But It Will Not Cure Lung Cancer (2,3,5,6,7)
- 20,000 – 25,000 newly diagnosed lung cancer victims never smoked cigarettes - and these cases are on the rise.
- Nonsmoking-related causes of lung cancer include:
- Air pollution - as high a cancer risk as living with a smoker.
- Radon - the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer, after tobacco smoke.
- Exposure to asbestos, uranium, arsenic, diesel fuel and other carcinogens.
- Over 60% of newly diagnosed lung cancer victims are former smokers or never smoked cigarettes in their lives.
- Significant risk of lung cancer remains for 20 or more years after quitting smoking.
- Cancer Facts and Figures 2009, American Cancer Society
- Patel JD, Bach PR, Kris MG. Lung cancer in US women: A contemporary epidemic. JAMA. 2004; 291:1763-1768.
- Nordquist LT, Simon GR, Cantor A, Alberts WM, Bepler G. Improved survival in never-smokers vs current smokers with primary adenocarcinoma of the lung. Chest. 2004;126:347-351.
- Thomas L, Doyle LA, Edelman MJ. Lung cancer in women: Emerging differences in epidemiology, biology, and therapy. Chest. 2005;128:370-381.
- Warner EE, Mulshine JL. Lung cancer screening with spiral CT: toward a working strategy. Oncology (Williston Park). 2004 May;18(5):564-75, discussion 578, 583-4, 587.
- Ebbert JO, Yang P, Vachon CM, Vierkant RA, Cerhan JR, Folsom AR, Sellers TA. Lung cancer risk reduction after smoking cessation: Observations from a prospective cohort of women. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21(5);921-926.
- Furak J, Trojan I, Szoke T, et al. Bronchioloalveolar Lung Carcinoma:. Occurrence, surgical treatment & survival. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2003;23:818-823.
- Lung Cancer Alliance 2009 Fact Sheet
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