Lung Cancer Statistics – What You Need to Know

If you are looking for some lung cancer statistics, you are reading the right article. Most people are aware that the majority of cancer deaths are due to lung cancer. Actually, this type of cancer is the second highest cause of death among people.

Because statistics show that 85% of cancer deaths are due to smoking, it is possible to prevent many of these deaths by quitting smoking. Smoking is not good for the health of the smoker as well as for any passive smokers, who are unfortunate enough to be living around the smoker. Compared to other causes of death, lung cancer deaths could become insignificant if everyone in the world suddenly stopped smoking completely.

Statistics show that of all the ethnic groups in the world, the incidence of cancer in the lungs in African Americans is the highest. The reason often cited is that it has also been shown that African Americans smoke more than other ethnic groups.

You may not be aware but this cancer is considered to be one of the most life-threatening kinds of cancer. Cancer statistics show that the five year survival rate of breast cancer patients is 87%, while that of colon cancer patients is 62%. Similarly, there is a 92% five year survival rate for prostate cancer patients. You will be shocked to learn that the five year survival rate of lung cancer patients is as low as 15%.

One of the reasons for the low survival rate of these cancer patients can be ascribed to the fact that the disease is often only identified during the final or advanced stages. During the final stages, cancer has already spread throughout the body and is affecting many organs adversely. As a result most lung cancer patients die sooner, rather than later.

A common fallacy, is that someone having quit smoking for 15 years has a reduced chance of getting lung cancer and that the condition of their lungs become comparable to those of a non-smoker. It does not matter what the perceptions are, but cancer statistics show it to be impossible. The lungs of smokers will never be restored to the same condition as the lungs of non-smokers. While not further increasing their probability of getting cancer, it could still never decrease to the same probability applicable to non-smokers.

There is a nine times higher probability for someone who smoked previously to die from lung cancer, than there is for someone who has never smoked. Also, there is a twenty-three times higher probability of a lung cancer patient who continues smoking to die, than there is for someone who has quit smoking.

Needless to say, lung cancer statistics show alarming links with smoking. If you do not wish to die from this disease, then the message is simple – STOP SMOKING! As they say, rather safe than sorry!