Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer for both men and women in the United States, with roughly 399,000 Americans currently living with the disease, according to the American Lung Association. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports in the U.S., about 7,300 people who never smoked die from lung cancer every year due to secondhand smoke. Exposure to radon, asbestos, and arsenic can cause lung cancer. Cancer survivors who had radiation therapy to the chest are at higher risk of lung cancer too.
But it’s smoking that is the leading cause of lung cancer in New Mexico. The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) estimates 2,600 New Mexicans die annually from smoking and another 42,000 people suffer with at least one serious illness from smoking. Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in our state.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and it coincides with the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout on November 19th.
The most important thing you can do to lower your lung cancer risk is to quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. The constant push about not smoking comes from the long proven fact that smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the world. Smoking is linked to not just cancer but also heart, peripheral artery or blood vessel disease. It even causes medical complications for many other issues from diabetes to fertility, pregnancy and more.
Lung cancer begins in the lungs and may spread to lymph nodes or other organs in the body, even the brain. There’s two main types called small cell and non-small cell. These types of lung cancer grow differently and are treated differently. Non-small cell lung cancer is more common than small cell lung cancer.
The CDC points out lung cancer is difficult to diagnose because different people have different symptoms. Only some people have symptoms actually related to the lungs. Other people whose lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body have symptoms specific to that part of the body. Some people just have general symptoms of not feeling well. Most people with lung cancer don't have symptoms until the cancer is advanced. Lung cancer symptoms may include—
· Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away.
· Chest pain.
· Shortness of breath.
· Wheezing.
· Coughing up blood.
· Feeling very tired all the time.
· Weight loss with no known cause.
NMDOH can help smokers reduce their risk from tobacco products by offering free medications, including patches, gum and lozenges, and free counseling and text messaging support through the statewide toll-free quit lines. 1-800-QUIT-NOW and 1-855-DEJELO-YA offer telephone-based tobacco cessation services in English and Spanish.
For more information on the Department of Health’s smoking cessation programs visit it’s The Tobacco Use Prevention and Control (TUPAC) program at https://nmhealth.org/about/phd/cdb/tupac/.