Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is when damaged cells in your lungs grow out of control. The bad cells (called cancer) get bigger and bigger until they crowd out and kill the healthy cells in your lungs! This makes it very painful and difficult to breathe, and it can even kill you!

One of the major causes for lung cancer is cigarette smoke. In fact, 8 out of 10 lung cancer victims are smokers! Smoke from cigarettes has things called carcinogens in it, that can make healthy cells become cancer cells. There are also some carcinogens in polluted air. Polluted air can come from anywhere - cars, factories, or even places in your house!

Lung cancer kills thousands of people in Canada each year, and most of them got it from smoking. Almost all people who get lung cancer die within the next 5 years.

When a person has lung cancer, there are many ways to try and treat it. Sometimes the doctor performs an operation to cut out the cancer cells in the lung. Another way is to zap the bad cells with radiation to kill them. The third kind of treatment is called chemotherapy, and that's when the doctor gives the person special drugs that try to kill the cancer cells. Even with all of these treatments, most people with lung cancer die within the first year of having it. The best way to avoid getting lung cancer is not to smoke, and keep the air you breathe clean!

For additional information, check out the Canadian Lung Association's web site.