United States: Lung cancer is the alternate most common cancer for both men and women in the United States. In 2024, nearly a quarter of a million people are anticipated to be diagnosed with lung cancer, and about 125,000 are estimated to die from it.
Almost of those diagnosed are over the age of 65, with veritably many cases being in people under 45, according to the American Cancer Society.
Declining Rates and the significance of Quitting Smoking
As mentioned in USA Today, Health experts are encouraged by the fact that statistics are on the decline and likely thanks to a combination of smoking declining and the advances in the medical technology and that allow for earlier detection and treatment and those numbers are still high and they say more can be done to mitigate the risks.
“The health benefits of stopping smoking starts within minutes, so it’s never too late to stop,” Alejandra Ellison-Barnes, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Tobacco Treatment and Cancer Screening Clinic, tells USA TODAY.
Here’s what medical experts want you to actually know about the causes and symptoms which causes lung cancer.
What are the cause lung cancer?
About almost 80 percent lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking according to the official report of ACS, though experts also note that the majority of the lung cancer deaths which are likely means that genetics and exposure to the known risk factors which play a role as well.
“About 10 to 20% of people who smoke cigarettes will develop lung cancer over the course of their lives, with those who smoke more at higher risk than those who smoke less,” Dr. Ellison-Barnes says.
What causes lung cancer in the nonsmokers?
You don’t have to smoke tobacco to be at the risk for developing lung cancer said the experts and also the exposure to the second-hand smoke, air pollution, asbestos, diesel exhaust and radon, a radioactive gas with no smell or color that’s majorly we found in the rocks, soil and burning coals and fossil fuels can only cause lung cancer according to the ACS.
The common signs of lung cancer?
Preliminary symptoms, according to the ACS, can include:
· An ongoing or worsening cough
· Coughing up blood or rust-coloured phlegm
· Ongoing or recurring infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia
· Unexplained weight loss and/or loss of appetite
· Feeling tired, weak or short of breath
· Wheezing or hoarseness