Once again I hear the excitement in the headlines - cancer death rates are dropping.
But for me the news feels bittersweet. Reading through the report elicited feelings reminiscent of those I felt when I once attended a baby shower and a funeral on the same day.
First the expectant news - and it is exciting. Cancer death rates in the U.S. dropped 2% for men during the period from 2001 to 2006, and 1.5% for women from 2002 to 2006. This represents a decline in the death rate from the 4 major cancers in both men and women, except...
The somber news. Lung cancer deaths in women continue to increase, though they appear to be stabilizing.
Now the confusing news. Everything I have read dismisses this increase as simply due to the later onset of smoking in women. Women started smoking 20 years later than men. To me - this seems like an easy way to overlook that one race that was lost and focus on the blue ribbons. After all, if it is all smoking, the lost race should be easy to win next time, right?
For those who have done some contemplating after reading the book Freakanomics, some things that seem pretty clear-cut lose their clarity when we look at statistics. What do we know about women, lung cancer, and smoking?
Well...20% of women who develop lung cancer have never touched a cigarette. Another 50% quit in the past. All of the smoking cessation programs available aren't going to make a difference for those 70% plus. And we believe that one form of lung cancer - bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) - is increasing in incidence even though it commonly hits younger, non-smoking women.
So as the parade marches on in celebration, I have to stand on the sidelines with my yellow flag saying "slow down!" Why aren't we looking at causes of lung cancer other than smoking in women? Why aren't we as adamant about asking everyone to check their home for radon (the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers) as we are about outlawing smoking in restaurants? Why aren't we reaching out to women, talking about how the early symptoms of lung cancer may be different than they are in men, and how recognizing those symptoms may help us find those cancers in the earlier, more curable stages?
Banding together and wearing pink ribbons seems to have made a difference; breast cancer deaths are declining. Isn't it time we wear the less visible clear or white ribbons for lung cancer?
Have you or your group done anything to raise awareness or funding for lung cancer? Please share your stories in our new "Show and Tell" feature:
Further reading:
Photo: National Cancer Institute/Bill Branson (photographer)
Source:
Jemal, A. et al. Cancer Statistics, 2010. CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Published online before print July 7, 2010. doi: 10.3322/caac.20073.
AMEN!
Thank you so very much for this post.
There isn’t a day that goes by that I do not wish that I could do to lung cancer what it did to my beloved mother. We lost her in 2007, after a six month battle, watching our “steel magnolia,” if you will, weaken and quickly succumb to this deadly disease.
She was a former smoker, but had quit ten year prior to her misdiagnosis of bronchitis and pneumonia. Never once did she hide her history of smoking, nor was the possibility of screening ever discussed by her internist that she saw regularly. Several months later the diagnosis of small cell lung cancer was made. The night of her first meeting with her oncologist at the hospital – she was met with the question, “Did you smoke?”
No one asks for a diagnosis of lung cancer. As you said, the 60-70% of those diagnosed never smoked or quit sometimes decades ago, as my mother had.
Nothing I do will bring my precious mother back, but I have found that I can turn my grief into something positive by continuing her fight. I do that by volunteering with the National Lung Cancer Partnership as a Free To Breathe event organizer in my home state of SC. It is my way to honor the memory of my beloved mother, show my two little daughters just how special she was, and advocate for the thousands in my state that will be diagnosed and sadly, lose their battle with the deadly disease each year.
I am a never smoker. I found out I had stage IV lung cancer January 2008. I was 53 years old. It had already spread to a large number of lymph nodes and my spinal bone. I responded well to treatment and beat the prognosis I was given (6 mo). I developed metastasis to my brain last November and have just learned the brain tumors have returned. Bittersweet is a great description on how I feel. I live in Florida and am working with the National Lung Cancer Partnership to put on our second Free to Breathe 5K/1 mile walk to raise awareness and funds for research. It is Nov. 6. http://www.freetobreathe.org is the web site. Last year we raised $88,000. I am not sure I will be around for future races, but the good will be continued. Women need to realize that more of us are dying from lung cancer than breast cancer. We do not have the number of survivors to carry on the good work. Most of us die within the first year of our diagnosis. I have felt the pain of loss, losing friends who battled and never had a chance to tell their stories. Please join us in our battle to raise awareness and change the lung cancer statistics. Thank you for this wonderful article.
Thank you for getting the word out…..
I, too, am a never smoker that got lung cancer-BAC-
I inhaled plenty of second hand smoke in my day, primarily because it was difficult to escape……
I lived in a household of smokers and most venues: restaurants,concert halls,clubs,etc… allowed it. I feel radon has been forgotten about as a threat, I tell everyone I know to test for it. A word to the wise, sometimes a cough is not “just a cough”-get checked out and don’t let any MD tell you that you “couldn’t possibly have LC, you never smoked”. Go with your gut and find a doctor that will listen.
I was told my a prominent thoracic (female) surgeon in a prestigious Washington DC hospital with a Lung Cancer “Center” that I “couldn’t possibly have it….” for the reason cited above….she was wrong!!
Luckily I found a surgeon who would listen and did the necessary surgery. Please support NLCP,LCA and
Bonnie J. Addario’s endeavors to educate, inform and support………..
I was very glad to see these comments. The ribbon for lung cancer is “clear” but maybe they should rename the color “invisible.” There is so much we don’t know about lung cancer and there is so much that COULD be done and is not being done because of the stigma of the disease. I hope all women will take to heart the fact that lung cancer is the number one cancer killer among women and rising.
Thanks a lot for putting forward these questions. My mother who had never smoked in her life nor had any relatives smoke lost her battle at age 51 only. We never came to know the reasons behind the cause. It’s high time that science answer these questions and provide better treatment . Why discriminate lung cancer patients????
I am learning so much that I wish I had learned years ago. My mother, 63, just lost her battle with lung cancer. As family members, we all could not help but wonder why. The whys are intensely disturbing…I am aghast at what passes for research in this area. Thank you for putting forth some real effort. We should put this news in the forefront…it is killing way more people than we ever imagined.