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Read statement from Reeve Foundation about
Dana Reeve's death
Death of Dana Reeve highlights women's
unique lung cancer risks
Newswise — The stunning death of Dana Reeve
at age 44 highlights lung cancer's toll on
women—taking more lives than breast cancer,
ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer combined.
Last December, the Harvard Women's Health
Watch reported that lung cancer has
increasingly become a special concern for
women.
• Man or woman, exposure to tobacco smoke is
the most significant risk factor for lung
cancer; but although fewer women than men
smoke, women account for nearly half the new
cases. Quit rates for women smokers are
lagging behind those for men. And we know
that quitting is harder for women.
• Several studies suggest that women smokers
develop lung cancer earlier and with less
smoke exposure than men do. Compared with
men who smoke, women smokers are also more
likely to develop small cell lung cancer, a
form that spreads fast and has the poorest
prognosis. Men tend to develop squamous cell
carcinoma, which produces more symptoms and
thus is easier to detect.
• Among nonsmokers, more women than men
develop lung cancer — more than two-thirds
of nonsmokers with lung cancer are women.
Women and nonsmokers are more prone to a
stealthy form of the disease, adenocarcinoma,
which spreads early on to other parts of the
body.
• Despite the uneven burden of disease in
women, targeted agents may be used more
often or earlier in women, especially
nonsmokers, because they seem to respond
better than men.
For now, there are no screening techniques
that have been shown to reduce lung cancer
deaths, so do everything you can to keep
your home, car, and work environment
smoke-free.
Because
nonsmokers can also develop lung cancer, be
alert to the symptoms of the disease —
including a cough that won’t go away and
worsens over time, persistent chest pain,
coughing up blood, shortness of breath,
recurring pneumonia or bronchitis, weight
loss, and fatigue — and see a clinician if
they persist. To read more, go to
http://www.health.harvard.edu/articles/lung_cancer.htm
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