Lung Cancer Awareness Month: Are you at risk?

Lung cancer isn’t just for smokers. 

Make no mistake — smoking is by far the most common risk factor for developing lung cancer. If you smoke, it’s important to quit as soon as possible for your lung and vascular health. But have you lived with a smoker, while abstaining yourself? You might also be at risk. Never lived with a smoker? Yes, you could also develop lung cancer. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, says that in the United States, about 10 to 20 percent of lung cancer cases happen in people who never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.  

Secondhand smoke exposure

Secondhand smoke isn’t always easy to avoid — especially for children. Parents who are smokers, if they can’t quit, should make it a priority to never smoke indoors around other people, and especially not in an enclosed environment such as a car. If you live with a smoker, ask them to have a designated smoking area outside, where the smoke will not enter your home. 

Radon risks 

Even if you don’t have secondhand smoke in the house, there could be another risk factor inside: radon. Invisible, odorless radon gas is found in rock and soil. On Delmarva, we have a slightly lower risk of high home radon levels because of our sandy soil. But it can still happen.  

Radon is also present in natural gas, so if you heat your home that way, cook or have a natural gas water heater, radon can build up inside your house. It can even enter your home via the house itself; concrete floors, brick and mortar, sheet rock and stone can contain radon. Home radon detectors are inexpensive — around the cost of a smoke alarm — and can alert you if the air quality in your home becomes compromised due to radon. 

Other risk factors 

Researchers estimate secondhand smoke contributes to about 7,300 and radon to about 2,900 cases of lung cancer every year, so these risk factors are worth addressing. Working in construction areas where toxic materials such as asbestos become airborne is also a risk. Even air pollution has been named as a contributor to lung cancer cases. 

So even if you’re not a smoker, make sure to bring any breathing issues to your doctor’s attention. Early intervention makes a difference. 

And if you are a smoker, or were, then you are at much higher risk —  but even if you do get lung cancer, your outcomes could be greatly improved by catching it early.  

“Lung cancer screening tests can detect 80 percent of lung cancers at their early stages, when treatment and prognosis are much better,” said Kurt Wehberg, MD, of TidalHealth Cardiovascular Surgery. He is a nationally recognized expert on lung cancer surgery and other thoracic surgery.