Women at Greater Risk for Lung Cancer than Breast Cancer

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Women at Greater Risk for Lung Cancer than Breast Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 70,000 women died from lung cancer in the United States in 2003, compared to approximately 39,000 women who died from breast cancer. Dr. Jyoti Patel, an oncologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and a specialist in women's lung cancer, states:

"Lung cancer causes more deaths among women than breast, uterine and ovarian cancers combined, but I don't think this is on women's radar screens at all."

Because lung cancer began as a disease for men over the age of 60 who smoked or continue to smoke, many doctors did not talk to women about the risks of lung cancer. Now, as the incidences of lung cancer diagnoses increases and more women are dying of the disease, there is a greater need to educate women about the risks.

Viviana Simon, director of scientific affairs for the Society for Women's Health Research, in Washington, D.C., tells The Detroit News:

"The risk of developing lung cancer remains for 20 years after quitting, and then the risk drops by half."

Simon also pointed out some very important facts, such as:

Non-smoking women are more likely to get lung cancer than non-smoking men.

More women than men develop small-cell lung cancer, which is more aggressive than other lung cancers and harder to cure. Read full article...