Cancer, Health

The Connection Between Smoking & Lung Cancer

lung cancerDespite the ads and warning that cigarette smoking is bad for the health, a lot of people are still smoking and find it hard to quit the habit. What would you do if you found out that there is a link between smoking and lung cancer? Read on and find out some hard facts to help you quit the bad habit.

Studies reveal that individuals who smoke are likely to develop lung cancer twenty-three times more than people that don't smoke. This is true among men, but women are not exempted. The risks will depend on how many packs you are able to consume every day.

Tobacco contains over fifty chemicals that cause cancer, and these chemicals are popularly known as carcinogens. Some of the carcinogens that can be found in tobacco are vinyl chloride, nickel, benzene, and arsenic.

Lung cancer is also of different types. The lung cancer treatment will depend on the cancer type, and the stage of the disease. Around 20% of lung cancer cases fall under the small cell lung cancer. In the case of non-smokers, the condition is called NSCLC or non-small cell lung cancers. However, NSCLC can also occur in smokers.

There is also the squamous cell lung cancer and adenocarcinoma. With the popularity of filtered cigarettes, more and more people are suffering from adenocarcinoma.

It would always help if you quit smoking now! Some people think that it is too late, and believe that even if they quit, the risks of developing lung cancer is still high. The younger you quit, the larger is your chances of not developing the disease. You should never have second thoughts in quitting this bad habit because you are going to enjoy benefits, regardless of your age.

What if you already have lung cancer? Should you still quit smoking? For some people who have the disease, it is no use to quit on the habit. This is a wrong belief. If you are going to undergo surgery, there is a need to quit the habit to make the operation more successful. It can also prevent possible complications like heart disease. If you want to survive cancer and prevent further complications, you must stop smoking right away.

cigarette-smokingNo one deserves to have cancer, even smokers. This is a stigma that must be corrected.If someone is diagnosed with lung cancer then that person needs not only proper lung cancer treatment medication but also all the moral support he/she can get. Whether the patient is a smoker or non-smoker, he/she is entitled to receive support and proper care.

Now that you know how smoking can contribute your chances of getting lung cancer, you can finally make the decision. To quit or not to quit - the final decision is in your hands. It is up to you to quit on the habit while you're still young.

If you quit smoking when you're already old (e.g. over 50 years old), the risks are higher in comparison to someone who quit smoking at age 25. Strive hard to live a healthy lifestyle, and you don't have to worry about developing a chronic illness like cancer.

If you have any questions, please ask below!