Most people think only cigarette smokers are diagnosed with lung cancer but studies show that non-smokers are affected as well. In fact, one in five women diagnosed with lung cancer have never lit a cigarette, compared to one in 10 men.
Richard Battafarano, MD, thoracic surgeon at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine says there''s no concrete answer as to why women at higher risk, but says a patient''s genetic predisposition is one possible cause.
"Many cancers occur sporadically and come without an obvious cause," says Dr. Battafarano. "I think it''s important for physicians, patients and their families to remember there is a small but very real group of people who do develop lung cancer who have never smoked and it''s important to identify those as early as possible."
He says for these people – a patient population called "never-smokers" – a lung cancer diagnosis frequently comes when the disease is already in its advanced stages.
"The patient themselves and the physicians caring for them often won''t think of lung cancer as being a possibility because they''re never-smokers," says Dr. Battafarano. "But if they have symptoms of an upper respiratory infection or a persistent cough, an initial chest x-ray is reasonable to get and if they have any question they can always get a CT scan of the chest for identifying even early-stage lung cancers."
This year in the United States, an estimated 93,010 men and 79,560 women will be diagnosed with lung cancer and almost an equal number -- 90,490 men and 73,020 women -- will die of it. And while Reeve has never smoked, it should be remembered that her case is an exception rather than a rule.
"Overall, 90 percent of all lung cancer still occurs in patients who are previous smokers or are currently smoking," says Dr. Battafarano. "Those who are smoking should try to quit."
He says smoking cessation classes and nicotine substitutes help, but a smoker truly has to want to quit before he or she can succeed. "If they don''t want to stop smoking for themselves, they should consider doing it for their sons, daughters and grandchildren because we know that smoking shortens lives," says Dr. Battafarano.
For information about smoking cessation classes offered by the Siteman Cancer Center, call 800-600-3606.