Protect Your Children from Lung Cancer

In 2004 the UK alone had 153,397 deaths caused by cancer alone. Every year around 38,000 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in the UK alone.The total population in the UK around that time was estimated at 60.2 million people. A closer look will reveal the true extent of the disease that is slowly being tackled by research. Cancer cases are increasing by 1% per year. Cancer mainly effects people in later life, but is also seen to develop in children and adolescents. More than 75% of deaths from cancer occur in the elderly from the age of 65 and above. With such a high rate of deaths occurring in the elderly, cancer is responsible for 1 in 4 or 25% of all deaths across all age groups throughout the world. This figure is highest in adults under 65 years old, where 1 in every 3, or 33%, of all deaths are caused by cancer.
There are more than 200 different types of cancer but only four of these types were responsible for 48% of all cancer related deaths. Lung cancer was the single biggest type of cancer diagnosed which accounts for 22% of all cancer deaths in 2004. Bowel, breast and prostate cancer were responsible for between 11% and 8% of other cancer deaths. Why is the rate of lung cancer sufferers so high? Simply because of the number of people who smoke cigarettes. Around 80% of all lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking.
Cutting down on smoking or stopping all together would greatly reduce the number of cancer deaths. World-wide, over 1.3 million cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year. Prolonged smoking is responsible for the greatest number of lung related cancer deaths, with it striking most commonly among those aged 65 years and over. It is very seldom diagnosed in those under 40. Scotland has the highest rate of lung cancer sufferers in the UK. Scotland has a history of high smoking and Scottish men and women have among the highest rates of cancer in the world. Why are the rates so high in Scotland? Exposure to industrial carcinogens and poor diet are believed to contribute to the high rate of sufferers. Asbestos exposure is responsible for around 6% of male lung cancer cases diagnosed. If we look at the whole world, the highest rates of lung cancer in the world are found to be in men in eastern Europe as well as men in North America. The pattern is similar for women with the highest number of sufferers occurring in Denmark, Hungary and Iceland.
In the US, incidences of lung cancer are higher in the black population for men and women while contrastingly, Hispanics and Asians have lower number of cases than the white population.
Children are not immune to smoking with nearly 1 in 4 smoking by the age of 15. How life-time smoking habits are developed occurs in adolescent years, and by 19 they are firmly addicted to smoking. There is evidence that points to the fact that how early on in life someone begins smoking has more of an impact on the likelihood of them going on to develop lung cancer. So the young the habit is formed, the greater the risk of lung cancer. This factor is more prominent than the quantity or length a person smokes from then on after developing the habit or becoming addicted to nicotine.
Some factors that cause children to smoke are having a parent that is a smoker or siblings or friends. Being exposed to cigarette advertising is also a factor that leads children to smoke. Passive smoking by someone, also puts them at risk of developing lung cancer. It can also lead to respiratory disease in children. Children growing up with parents that smoke are also at risk of asthma, middle-ear infections and cot deaths.
The level of risk in the UK becomes more alarming when you take into account the fact that one in every three children grow up in a household with at least one parent that smokes. Smokers that consume up to 14 cigarettes a day are eight times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers. Alarmingly, smokers consuming 25 or more a day are 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer.
For the sake of your children, if not for your health, give up smoking and you will have more appreciation for life in your later years, with improved personal health and children free from the risk of respiratory diseases that may bring to an early end a wonderful life. If not for yourself, for the sake of your children.

Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small Cell Lung Cancer is second only to breast cancer in terms of deaths. There are about 175,000 reported cases of Small Cell Lung Cancer in the U.S. each year. Of these, about 160,000 will result in the death of the patient. Small Cell Lung Cancer is so deadly because it is hard to catch in time. Small Cell Lung Cancer develops in cells that are actually so small that they do not show up on normal x-rays. By the time they are found the cancer is usually already into an advanced state.
The leading cause of Small Cell Lung Cancer is smoking. Smokers run a much higher chance of contracting Small Cell Lung Cancer as compared to non-smokers. Anyone who is a smoker should see a doctor for regular examinations.
The best chance someone has if they contract Small Cell Lung Cancer is catching it early. Those who catch the cancer in the first stage of development have up to a 40% chance of survival with the correct treatment.
There are two forms of lung cancer, Small Cell Lung Cancer and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer is the least dangerous of the two. About 50% of the lung cancer cases reported are Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. These are treatable. Patients often see a full recovery. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer has 5 stages of development. The recovery percentages decrease the more advanced it becomes.
Small Cell Lung Cancer only has two stages: mild and severe. When it reaches the severe state it spreads very rapidly throughout the body. This is why it is much tougher to fight. By the time Small Cell Lung Cancer is detected it is usually in the severe stage. At this point most patients only have 18-20 months to live.

Zero Nicotine Can Be Achieved

Imagine yourself in the future, say six months time from now. How good is it going to be when someone offers you a cigarette and you find yourself saying 'no thanks'? Well,to break free from smoking, you need to break free from nicotine."Just like that" i hear you say!I wouldn't insult your intelligence by saying it is easy.....in fact it is a well-known that withdrawal from nicotine is very unpleasant. In fact, it is the single thing that causes even the most committed quitters to go back to smoking. However consider the benefits of quitting smoking,after all aren’t you tired of being a slave to cigarettes? Below is a list of health benefits you can receive from quitting smoking for good:
Stroke risk is reduced to the level of a person who never smoked after 5 to 15 years of not smoking. Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus risks are halved 5 years after quitting. Cancer of the larynx risk is reduced after quitting. Coronary heart disease risk is cut by half 1 year after quitting and is nearly the same as someone who never smoked 15 years after quitting. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk of death is reduced after you quit. Lung cancer risk drops by as much as half 10 years after quitting. Ulcer risk drops after quitting. Bladder cancer risk is halved a few years after quitting. Peripheral artery disease goes down after quitting. Cervical cancer risk is reduced a few years after quitting. Low birth weight baby risk drops to normal if you quit before pregnancy. Clearly the list is endless so why not make it your mission to become tobacco-free, pure and simple.