Great American Smokeout Nov. 21 Remove the Stigma, Plan to Quit

The 44th Great American Smokeout is Thursday, November 21, 2019. It has a new theme:“Day 1.” This theme expresses that GASO recognizes that successfully quitting smoking is difficult and takes time and planning. The American Cancer Society (ACS) encourages people who smoke or who use any type of tobacco to use the day to create a plan for a tobacco-free life, and the American Cancer Society is available to help.

1 Out of 5 Lung Cancer Patients Have Never Smoked

For November, which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, ACS is also reminding the public that signs and symptoms of lung cancer should not be ignored based on a lack of a history of smoking. “While tobacco use is the main risk factor for lung cancer, about one in five lung cancers occurs in people who never smoked. Every year, tens of thousands of people who have never smoked are diagnosed with lung cancer. About 20,000 cases per year are attributed to radon and about 7,000 cases are attributed to second-hand smoke,” says Dr. Linder.

Don't delay screening

“Patients with symptoms of lung cancer that have persisted for a few weeks without an obvious alternative explanation, need to be evaluated for lung cancer regardless of whether they have smoked or not,” said Richard C. Wender, M.D., American Cancer Society chief cancer control officer. “Associating lung cancer with smoking has produced stigma for far too many people. No one, neither someone who smokes or someone who never has smoked, should have to feel shame at a cancer diagnosis or worse, experience a delay in diagnosis.”

Early diagnosis and care can improve outcomes in lung cancer. If diagnosis and treatment are delayed because of stigma, bias, or due to the assumption that lung cancer is rare in those who don’t smoke, patients could suffer as a result. Ask your doctor about low-dose CT scan screening if you presently smoke or are a former smoker. For ACS screening guidelines, see www.cancer.org.

Treatment advances

“We have made dramatic progress in the treatment of lung cancer. This progress is related to our ability to perform comprehensive biomarker diagnostic testing for many patients and to tailor treatments more precisely,” said Dr. Wender.

Dr. Brookland adds, “For advanced cancer, we now have better targeted systemic therapies for some patients. For localized disease, we are using stereotactic body radiation therapy which can avoid the need for surgery and eligible patients can complete a course of radiation treatment in as few as one to five treatments.”

Most lung cancers do not have symptoms until they spread, but some people with early lung cancer do have symptoms. When cancer is diagnosed at an earlier stage, treatment is more likely to be effective.

Most common symptoms of lung cancer

• A cough that does not go away or gets worse
• Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm)
• Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing, or laughing
• Hoarseness
• Weight loss and loss of appetite
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling tired or weak
• Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that do not go away or keep coming back
• New onset of wheezing

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined each year.

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for lung cancer in the US for 2019:

• About 228,150 new cases of lung cancer (116,440 in men and 111,710 in women)
• About 142,670 deaths from lung cancer (76,650 in men and 66,020 in women)

For information and support, see www.cancer.org/smokeout.