20 Lung Cancer Facts You Should Know

Being diagnosed with lung cancer is not an easy pill to swallow. You probably have a lot of questions, and you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. 

Fortunately, there is a lot of information all over the internet that can help answer some of the questions you may have. However, there are also a lot of misconceptions and misinformation, and it can be tough to navigate which are real and which aren’t.

We want to help provide you with the answers to some of your questions. Here are some lung cancer facts you may want to know.

20 Lung Cancer Facts

1. About 1 in 15 people in the United States is diagnosed with lung cancer. 1 in 14 for men, and 1 in 17 for women.
2. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer all over the world. 
3. In the United States alone, lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women. 
4. During the early stages, lung cancer doesn’t show any symptoms. This makes it more dangerous because diagnosis may come at a later stage.
5. The most common symptom of early lung cancer is chronic cough, which can be easily misdiagnosed. The cough is most likely to get worse over time. 
6. Around 80% of lung cancer deaths are due to smoking
7. Air pollution, second hand smoke, asbestos, and radon can also cause lung cancer.
8. Breast cancer used to be the leading cancer killer in women. However, lung cancer now kills almost twice as many women. And it kills three times as many men as prostate cancer. 
9. Horner’s syndrome is a symptom of lung cancer. It can include drooping eyelids, or not sweating on one side of your face. This usually happens when the tumors at the top of the lungs affect the facial nerves. 
10. There are a lot of different types. Lung cancer is an umbrella term for a group of diseases defined by the genetic makeup of the tumors. 
11. Every specific type of lung cancer needs a different type of treatment. 
12. The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends those who have smoked for 30 years, or who quit less than 15 years ago get yearly screenings for lung cancer. Usually, doctors recommend a low-dose CT-Scan.
13. Sadly, the cure for lung cancer is still non-existent to this day. However, there is new research that could potentially help patients live with their lung cancer and manage the disease.
14. Each year, secondhand smoke causes 7,000 lung cancer deaths.
15. It’s never too late to quit. Even if you have smoked for a long time, quitting smoking still reduces your risk of lung cancer. 
16. The risk of lung cancer increases as you get older.
17. Treatments for lung cancer may include chemotherapy, radiosurgery, radiation therapy, surgery, targeted drug treatments, and a combination of any of the these treatments. 
18. Around 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year are caused by radon. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer death.
19. Immunotherapy is a well-known treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. And it is also a promising treatment for other types of lung cancer. 
20. Around 23% of lung cancer deaths worldwide are due to pollution, both indoor and outdoor.

More Information

This article is part of our series on Lung Cancer Treatments, Signs, Causes and Prevention.

Please check out the next topic in this series: Lung cancer treatment cost