Not Just for Smokers

November is World Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Find out why lung cancer in non-smokers is more common than most people realise it.

Cancer of the lung - this phrase conjures up an image of a chronic smoker.

Indeed, smoking causes four in five cases of lung cancer. However, there is a rising trend of lung cancer in nonsmokers too.

A recent study reported a doubling of lung cancer incidence in non-smokers. This begs the question: Why non-smokers get lung cancer?

Let us start with the basic question: What is cancer? It is a disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. Now, why do these cells divide in an uncontrolled manner?

It is because of mutational changes in their genetic machinery which makes them pro-division. These mutational changes do not develop suddenly but are accumulated over the years in an individual, and a cancerous growth manifests only when they are sufficient. The carcinogenic (cancer- causing) substances that we know about are those that accelerate the process of these mutational changes.

Therefore, let us explore the other enemies apart from smoking.

Second-hand Smoking