Lung Cancer on the Rise: Why it's not only a "smoker's disease."

The most common stigma surrounding lung cancer is that it is a “smoker’s disease.” This stereotype is particularly troubling to Saeid Khansarinia, M.D., a thoracic surgeon at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, because it limits public awareness of the condition. While other cancers – breast, prostate and colon, to name a few – have widespread awareness campaigns and fundraising efforts, lung cancer typically gets less attention, despite high death rates.

Dr. Khansarinia hopes to reverse this stigma, especially as the rate of lung cancer in non-smokers and women is on the rise.

“It’s a very interesting notion that the rate of death by lung cancer in the United State is rising,” said Dr. Khansarinia. “It’s a frightening number because it is estimated over 160,000 people will die of lung cancer in the United States. It’s 28 percent of all cancer deaths.”

While lung cancer cases are on the rise among women and non-smokers, it appears to have plateaued in men. Dr. Khansarinia said this is likely thanks to education, awareness and a decrease in smoking.

“The sad part is, the rate of lung cancer in non-smoking women is on the rise and we have no good reason why that is,” said Dr. Khansarinia. “Unfortunately, there are no current, good studies or tests to evaluate the patient because there is risk with exposing them to radiation from CT scans or X-rays. Based on long-term studies, chest X-rays alone are not good screening exams to detect lung cancer.”

He said that secondhand smoke and radon exposure can play a role in the development of lung cancer, but plenty of patients who have rarely been exposed can still have lung cancer.

“Unfortunately, there is a generalized stigma attached with patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer – that it may be due to their behavior,” said Dr. Khansarinia. “What we have to do is forget about that stigma and start looking at the number one cancer in the United States. After heart disease, lung cancer is the largest killer in the United States.”

In fact, the number of patients who die every year from lung cancer is higher than the number of deaths caused by colon, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer combined.