Prevent Lung Cancer

Indoor air pollution. Cooking at home in a village outside Faisabad town

About Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer is a disease that begins in the tissue of the lungs. The lungs are sponge-like organs that are part of the respiratory system. During breathing, air enters the mouth or nasal passage and travels down the trachea. The trachea splits into two sets of bronchial tubes that lead to the left and right lung. The bronchi branch off into smaller and smaller tubes that eventually end in small balloon-like sacs known as alveoli. The alveoli are where oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other substances are exchanged between the lungs and the blood stream.

The vast majority of Lung Cancer cases fall into one of two different categories:

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer is the most common type of Lung Cancer, making up nearly 80% of all cases. This type of Lung Cancer grows and spreads more slowly than small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is divided into three different subcategories. Squamous cell carcinoma originates in the thin, flat cells that line the passages of the respiratory tract. Adenocarcinoma begins in the cells that form the lining of the lungs. Large cell carcinomas make up a group of cancers that look large and abnormal under a microscope.

Small Cell Lung Cancer makes up nearly 20% of all Lung Cancer cases. It is associated with cancer cells smaller in size than most other cancer cells. These cells may be small, but they can rapidly reproduce to form large tumors. Their size and quick rate of reproduction allows them to spread to the lymph nodes and to other organs of the body. This type of Lung Cancer is almost always caused by smoking or second hand smoke.

Lung Disease at Present: Each year 10 million people die of lung disease, we know that with research,collaboration and education we can reduce this deadly toll.

Lung Cancer Facts

Estimated Cancer Deaths in 2007

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States among every ethnic group... 1 in every 3 cancer deaths.

Lung cancer will kill:

• More people than breast, prostate, colon, live, kidney, and melanoma cancers... combined.
• Over three times as many men as prostate cancer.
• Nearly twice as many women as breast cancer.
• An average of 439 people a day.

Percent of New Lung Cancer Cases

Over 60% of new cases are never smokers or former smokers, many of whom quit decades ago.

One in five women and one in twelve men diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked.