Busting Myths Related to Lung Cancer

It is a misconception that only smokers suffer from lung cancer.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the US and has led to a number of deaths. Lung cancer is also one of the leading health concerns due to growing misconceptions, myths, and lack of funds for treatment.

It is necessary to get these myths busted in order to educate people about the risk factors involved (other than smoking), causes, early diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer. Here are a few of them:

Myth 1: Only a Smoker Can Get Lung Cancer

According to the doctors of Mayo Clinic, a majority of smokers do suffer from lung cancer, and second-hand smoke is a leading contributor to the disease. But according to the American Cancer Society, 20% of the people who died of lung cancer in the US had never smoked in their entire life.

The other causes of lung cancer may include exposure to radiation, radon gas, or second-hand smoke. People with a family history of lung cancer can also get affected by the disease.

Myth 2: Lung Cancer Can Be Detected Via Self-Examination

According to National Cancer Institute, lung cancer can be deadly. There, however, are various factors that cause death in lung cancer patients.

The first one is that it cannot be detected by self-examination like breast cancer; people do not get tested regularly and most of the time, lung cancer is asymptomatic. The survival rate increases up to 59% for lung cancer patients if they are diagnosed at an early stage (while the cancer is limited to the lungs and has not spread beyond).

Myth 3: Smoking Weed Is Harmless

According to PubMed, there is little research on whether smoking weed or the use of cannabis could cause lung cancer. But as far as medical health systems are concerned, no type of smoking is good and one should use cannabis only if they are prescribed by doctors.

Myth 4: E-Cigarettes Cannot Cause Lung Cancer

Vaping has been trending for a while now. According to Healthline, vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it still poses the risk of causing lung cancer. The presence of nicotine makes it harmful, though not as much as smoking.