What causes people to get lung cancer
The first major cause of lung cancer is smoking and exposure to smoke. The more you smoke or are exposed to smoke (secondhand smoke) and the longer you smoke, the more likely you are to get lung cancer. People who have never smoked are also likely to get lung cancer, but their chances are much less than those who smoke or have smoked or been exposed to smoke.
What you can do to reduce your risk of lung cancer
The best way to reduce your risk of getting lung cancer is to avoid smoking. It’s never too late to quit smoking, but the sooner you quit, the less likely you are to get lung cancer. Even if you can’t quit smoking completely, reducing the amount of time you smoke and the number of cigarettes you smoke can be beneficial, but it’s better to reduce than to quit altogether.
There are many strategies to help you stop smoking, including consulting a doctor, nicotine replacement therapy and medication. Most people will need to try several methods of quitting in order to decide which one is best, so don’t be discouraged. If you don’t succeed at first, keep trying and you will!
Are there other ways to reduce people’s risk of getting lung cancer
There are many factors that have been reported to change your risk of getting lung cancer, but none have been proven. These factors include
1. eating lots of fruit
2. exercising
3. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen)
4. inhaled glucocorticoids (for emphysema, asthma)
5. statins (for high cholesterol)
Eating more fruit and exercising is not likely to hurt you, the use of medications may have side effects. It is advisable to consult your doctor before making major changes to your diet and activity level.
Some things can increase people’s chances of getting lung cancer
There are several factors that we know can increase people’s chances of getting lung cancer. There are other factors that may increase your risk of getting lung cancer. But we don’t have enough information or evidence to say this with certainty.
Here are some factors that can increase your risk of lung cancer:
1. Smoking and exposure to smoke
2. Asbestos
3. Radon
4. High doses of beta-carotene supplementation
The following factors may increase your risk of lung cancer:
1. High doses of vitamin E supplementation
2. Hormone replacement therapy (estrogen and progestin)
3. Alcohol abuse
If you are going to consider taking any changes to your lifestyle habits, please tell your doctor to properly evaluate their risks and benefits
Screening for lung cancer
To find lung cancer when people are asymptomatic, we do not recommend frequent chest X-rays and radiographs, which have not been shown to detect early lung cancer (lung cancer before people develop symptoms) and can save and prolong lives. There are ongoing studies on CT scans that can detect early lung cancer, and some results have been published that can reduce lung cancer mortality. If you want to see if you have lung cancer, talk to your doctor to evaluate the risks and benefits associated with your screening test such as a CT scan.