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We couldn’t agree more (photo courtesy of Heather Geraghty)
Did you know that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and the second most diagnosed form of cancer in the United States? It’s a tough disease to fight because it impacts men and women equally and it has many environmental causes. Even as cases of lung cancer have been on a steady decline through recent years, likely due to the decrease in tobacco sales in the U.S., lung cancer is still a major public health issue. (1)
This news may seem bleak, but there’s hope out there for curbing this deadly form of cancer. To understand the solutions, we must first understand the disease itself. The CDC has a wealth of information on lung cancer. Check it out below.
Risk factors and causes
Cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and in the U.S. and is linked to about 90% of lung cancers. Don’t count on other forms of tobacco use as safe, though. Cigars, pipes, and e-cigarettes also increase your risk of cancer, and not just of the lung. Tobacco use can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. (1)
People who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke. Quitting smoking at any age can lower the risk of lung cancer. (1)
Secondhand smoke, like smoke from other people’s cigarettes, pipes, or cigars also causes lung cancer. In the United States, two out of five adults who don’t smoke and half of children are exposed to secondhand smoke, and about 7,300 people who never smoked die from lung cancer due to secondhand smoke every year. (1)
Radon, a naturally occurring gas that comes from rocks and dirt, can get trapped in houses and buildings and cause lung cancer. The invisible gas lacks taste or scent and special environmental tests are required to detect the gas. The EPA estimates that radon causes about 20,000 cases of lung cancer each year, making it the second leading cause of lung cancer and recommends testing homes for radon and using proven ways to lower high radon levels. (1)
Other factors, like air pollution and other chemicals (more on that below), or a family history of lung cancer can also increase your risk. (1)
Environmental factors
A Think Progress report from October 2014 provided details on an environmental trend in lung cancer connected to a controversial mining practice in West Virginia.
According to the report, dust generated by mountaintop removal mining contains particulate matter that “over an extended period of time can lead to lung cancer.” The report and corresponding study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology confirm previous research that has found increased cases of lung cancer in communities that live near coal mining operations in Appalachia. That research noted that smoking rates in these communities are likely also contributing to the lung cancer risk, making exposure to mining operations only one of the variables involved, but the report’s research confirms, for the first time, that dust from mining operations can drive up a person’s risk of lung cancer. (2)
An October 2014 report from Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, links an increased lung cancer rate to industrial refineries and chemical processing plants in the Haifa Bay area in Israel. According to the report, the lung cancer rate in the Haifa area is 26 percent higher than the national average for women and 16 percent higher for men, according to figures released Monday by the Israel Cancer Association and the Health Ministry. (3)
The Haifi area is home to pharmaceutical and chemical processing plants, oil refineries and a power plant (3), industrial giants that can commit gross environmental damage. The problem for Israeli citizens suffering from cancer and increased risk for lung disease is compounded by the Israel Cancer Association and Health Ministry’s hesitance to speak out against the pollution. (3)
We can see how and why environmental factors can cause cancer and why it’s a public (and global) health issue.
Solutions to fight lung cancer
Two big pieces of news came out this week on the lung disease prevention front.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposal on Monday for Medicare to cover lung cancer screenings. (4)
This is big news because previous to this announcement, lung cancer screenings were not covered by Medicare and high costs (around $300 as estimated by the UPI report cited below) shut out vulnerable populations. This is not yet a done deal, as CMS has opened a 30-day comment period following the announcement. (4)
With most ailments, prevention is key to controlling health outcomes. This step can allow people at risk for lung cancer a leg up on their illness and give them a chance to change their environmental and other risk factors before the disease takes hold of their lives.
One town is taking a bold step to fighting lung cancer by proposing a ban on all tobacco products. The Board of Health of Westminster, Mass. will hear public comments on a proposed regulation that could make Westminster the first municipality in the United States to ban sales of all tobacco products within town lines. (5)
According to the report from Boston.com, the proposal has become a lightning rod, with business owners circulating petitions against the proposal and large numbers of people asking about the town hall meeting. (5)
Nowhere in the report does it say that tobacco use would be banned. It simply refers to a town-wide ban on selling those products. Think of CVS’s decision to halt tobacco sales in their stores.
Westminster’s proposal could fail, but even if it does it signals a change in the culture of health. People are demanding better health and better choices in their environments. It started with a major drugstore chain like CVS dropping tobacco sales. It’s all a step toward the end of lung cancer in America.
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Sources:
(1)http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/
(2)http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/17/3581199/mountaintop-removal-mining-dust-cancer/
(3)http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.621848
(4)http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2014/11/10/Medicare-to-start-covering-lung-cancer-screenings/5191415669846/?spt=sec&or=hn
(5)http://www.boston.com/business/news/2014/11/09/massachusetts-town-weighs-nation-tobacco-ban/qvaPWBQwmBZf5ZalHaH2LJ/story.html
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