DID YOU KNOW …? Facts about Lung Cancer     
 

Every three minutes in the U.S., someone dies of lung cancer.

Today, like every day, nearly 500 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer.

 

In the next week alone, 3,500 families will receive this devastating news.

 

By this time next year, 180,000 people will face the deadliest of all cancers— one that kills more than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.

 
Every year 17,000 people who have never smoked are diagnosed with lung cancer. This surpasses the number of lives taken by drunk drivers, murder and high blood pressure. 

Nearly 60% of people with lung cancer die within one year of their diagnosis.
 
Because there are so few survivors lung cancer has become an "invisible" disease that no one likes to talk about. This silence has led to fewer research dollars, oncology specialists and public relations efforts dedicated to fighting lung cancer. And, it's the reason approximately 85% of people diagnosed with lung cancer do not survive.
 
Other vital facts: 
  • Annually, lung cancer kills more men than prostate cancer and more women than breast cancer.
    • Estimated 2007 deaths from lung cancer: 89,510 men and 70,880 women (160,390  total)
    • Estimated 2007 deaths from prostate cancer: 27,050 men
    • Estimated 2007 deaths from breast cancer: 40,460 women
  • Since 1964, when the Surgeon General released the first U.S. report on smoking and health, more than two million American smokers have died from smoking-related lung cancer.