“You’ve got lung cancer.” Few words strike as much fear in the hearts of a patient and his or her family as hearing those four words from a health care provider. Unfortunately, that fear is not misguided. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for Canadian men and women. The reason lung cancer is so deadly is because it is usually found in advanced stages, limiting treatment options. Despite all of the progress in cancer detection and treatment over the years, only 15% of those diagnosed with lung cancer live more than five years after being diagnosed.

How common is lung cancer?

It’s estimated that 23 400 Canadians will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 20 500 will die from the disease in 2009. That’s a mortality rate of 88%.

What causes lung cancer?

Smoking! It is estimated that cigarette smoking directly causes 90% of lung cancer in females and 80% in males.

Will lung cancer continue to be a problem in the future?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS, 2008) indicates that nearly 5 million Canadians over 15 years old are current smokers. Nearly

28% of the 5 million are 20 to 28 years of age. The fact is that smokers are 13 (female) to 23 (male) times more likely than non-smokers to get lung cancer. Given that in many cases it takes years for lung cancer to develop, we all will be paying the price for smoking for years to come.

Why don’t smokers just quit?

Research shows that 61% of smokers want to quit within the next 6 months. And of the 61%, 27% would like to quit in the next 30 days (CTUMS, 2008). The problem is that smoking is both a habit and an addiction. For many people quitting smoking is easier said than done. For example, despite the presence of a nearly universal ban on smoking in indoor public places and workplaces throughout Canada, about 21% of adults 20 to 54 years of age were current, daily smokers in 2008.

Why should a smoker quit? Hasn't the damage already been done?

While a former smoker’s risk will never be as low as that of a non-smoker, there are still plenty of health reasons why a smoker should quit (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004).
Quitting smoking improves:

• Oxygen Levels. Within eight hours of a smoker’s last cigarette, the carbon monoxide level in his or her blood drops greatly while oxygen levels increase.
• Lung function. Depending on how long and how much a smoker has smoked, within two weeks to three months of their last cigarette lung function will improve and breathing will become easier.
• Overall health and wellbeing. By nine months the coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath that smokers usually have will improve. You also decrease the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The link between smoking and lung cancer is proven. The most important thing you can do to protect yourself from lung cancer is to never start smoking. If you already smoke, do whatever it takes to quit.

KEY REFERENCES:
Health Canada. (n.d). Canadian tobacco use monitoring survey (CTUMS), Annual, February–December 2004. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/research-recherche/stat/ctums-esutc_2004-eng.php

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2004). The health consequences of smoking: A report of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved July 28, 2009, from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/smokingconsequences/index.html