Lung Cancer… Am I At Risk?
Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers. One in about every eight people in the United States (about 13%) who learn they have cancer this year will have lung cancer. Most people who have lung cancer are older, in their 50s, 60s, or 70s. But younger people can also have lung cancer. People worry about lung cancer because so many people die of it. About 500,000 people in the United States die every year of cancer. Almost one third of them will die of lung cancer. This is because, in most instances, lung cancer disease is not detected until the cancer has spread outside the lungs. But, when lung cancer is found in the early stages, it can be cured. Even late-stage lung cancer can be treated. This is why it is important for you to know if you are at risk for lung cancer. If you are at risk, you should talk to your family or primary care doctor or to a pulmonologist, a lung specialist.
