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Lung cancer kills more women every year than breast cancer. In
fact, lung Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death among both
men and women with statistics showing it is an increasing
problem for women especially as they have a proven
susceptibility to developing lung cancer.
However, lung cancer poses additional risks and issues for
women, and these can be generalised in one major way, and that
is to do with smoking.
About 90% of all lung cancer deaths among women are as a direct
result of smoking or breathing in someone else's second-hand
smoke. (This is known as Passive smoking).
Even though research has proven that smoking cause a wide range
of very serious health effects, 1 out of every 5 women in the
U.S. and other western countries still smoke with this number
rising with a disturbing regularity every year despite
widespread advertising to show how dangerous it is.
Various research studies which have been completed indicate that
women who are former smokers may still have a significantly
elevated risk of developing lung cancer even 20 years after they
have quit smoking. However it is only fair to say that once they
do stop smoking, the overall risk of developing lung cancer does
drop.
According to an article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in
2005:
Female smokers are more likely than male smokers to develop lung
cancer,
Women who have never smoked are more likely to develop lung
cancer than men who have never smoked.
These differences are due to hormonal, hereditary, and metabolic
differences between the sexes.
Female smokers are 13 times more likely to die of lung cancer
than women who have never smoked, and female former smokers are
5 times as likely to die of lung cancer as women who have never
smoked.
Women, even if they have never smoked, should be aware of their
higher risks. Because of the elevated risks that smoking causes
for lung cancer and a range of other serious diseases, female
smokers in particular should think very carefully about quitting
smoking as soon as possible, as even though their past history
of smoking does make them more liable to developing lung cancer,
at least the overall risk decreases once they quit.
About the author:
Isabelle Boulay writes for www.Medopedia.com, where you can read
about exercise
induced asthma , anti-snori
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