Reduce Your Risk & Recognize the Signs of Lung Cancer

There is no easy way around it. Lung cancer is daunting.

About every two and a half minutes, someone in this country learns they have lung cancer—the leading cause of cancer deaths among adults in the United States. 356 Americans lose their lives to the disease every day.

With numbers like that, it’s no wonder the American Lung Association (ALA) is doing all it can to shine a light on this difficult disease during Lung Cancer Awareness Month and bring all of us closer to a world free of lung disease. 

While there’s no proven way to eliminate the risk of lung cancer, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of developing it. These include:

Don’t Smoke

Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer (nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes). The most important thing you can do to prevent lung cancer is to not start smoking, or, if you already smoke, quit.   

For help quitting, visit smokefree.gov, call 1 (800) QUIT-NOW (784-8669), or text “QUIT” to 47848.

Avoid Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke from other people’s cigarettes, pipes, or cigars can lead to lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked. In fact, non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of getting lung cancer by 20% to 30%.

Get Your Home Tested for Radon

Thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, radon is an invisible, odorless, and tasteless gas that comes from rocks and soil. Radon can find its way in to buildings and homes via cracks and in the foundation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of 15 homes has a high level of radon. The only way to know if your home has radon is to test for it.

For information on testing your home, where to purchase testing kits, and general information on fixing or reducing the radon level in your home, click here.

Another important step is getting a lung cancer screening test.

Especially important for individuals with a history of smoking or a family history of lung cancer, screenings are used to detect lung cancer early, when it is more likely to be curable. If lung cancer is caught before it spreads, the likelihood of surviving 5 years or more improves to 63 percent.*

It is also important to learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of lung cancer. These may include:

• a cough for 3 weeks or more.
• a change in a cough you have had for a long time.
• a chest infection that does not get better, or repeated chest infections.
• feeling breathless and wheezy for no reason.
• coughing up blood.
• loss of appetite.
• unexplained weight loss.
• wheezing.
• chest or shoulder pain that does not get better.
• a hoarse voice for 3 weeks or more.

If you have any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment with your doctor.

 *Based on early-stage lung cancer stats (stage 1 vs. stage 4)

Matthew Vernon, MD, is a Radiation Oncologist Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center.