What You Might Not Know About Lung Cancer

This is my second year as the event chair for Free to Breathe Chelmsford and I continue to meet people every day who are unaware of the staggering statistics surrounding lung cancer. This doesn’t surprise me in the least since I too was unaware until someone very close to me was diagnosed. Unfortunately, lung cancer doesn’t get as much attention as other diseases and types of cancer, so this is often the case.

I became involved with the Free to Breathe event series, which benefits the National Lung Cancer Partnership, shortly after my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. I wanted to find a way to do something- when a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness we often feel helpless and helping with this event made me feel like I could make a difference. While raising funds for lung cancer research is extremely important, I also feel that raising awareness in our community is equally important. 

Below are some facts that might surprise you:

1) Lung cancer claims more lives each year than breast, prostate and colon cancers COMBINED. 1 in 14 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer.

 2) ANYONE with lungs can get lung cancer. While smoking is the number one cause, it can also be caused by radon, second hand smoke, family history, asbestos, radiation, air pollution, etc. Nearly 60% of lung cancer patients have already quit smoking or have never smoked. Lung cancer is NOT a smoker’s disease!

3) Many symptoms of lung cancer can be caused by other conditions so lung cancer is often not caught until the later stages of the disease, after it has already spread. Some symptoms include blood when you cough or spit, recurring respiratory infections, enduring cough that is new or different, ache or pain in shoulder, chest or back, trouble breathing, hoarseness or wheezing, and exhaustion, weakness or loss of appetite. If you experience any of these symptoms, please see your doctor!

4) Other types of cancer have seen great increases in their five year survival rate, while lung cancer’s five year survival rate is only 16%, and has only increased 1% in the last decade

5) Lung cancer does not receive nearly as much funding as other types of cancer which is keeping us from making new discoveries that could help to increase the five year survival rate

(Please visit this link for additional facts and statistics and see the graphs included in this article for more information.)

Looking at these facts and graphs can certainly be discouraging. BUT there is hope! We are all working hard to change these statistics so that we can transform what a lung cancer diagnoses means for patients and their families. The National Lung Cancer Partnership recently announced their bold new vision to double lung cancer survival by 2022 and we’re working hard to help make that vision a reality!

And the best news is that you can all help too! Our 4th Annual Free to Breathe Chelmsford 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Walk event is taking place on Sunday, September 22 at the Harrington Elementary School. Last year our event brought together over 700 participants and volunteers who raised over $105,000 and we can’t wait to do it again this year! There’s still plenty of time to get involved; you can register to run or walk the 5K or 1 mile, either as an individual or as a team, donate, sponsor or volunteer! Click here for more information or email event chair Becky Jacobson at FreetoBreatheMA@gmail.com! We hope you'll join us in our attempt to double lung cancer survival by 2022!