1. Don’t Smoke

The most important thing you can do to prevent lung cancer is to not start smoking, or to quit if you smoke. Smoking can cause cancer and then block your body from fighting it. Nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking cigarettes. Treatments are getting better for lung cancer, but it still kills more men and women than any other type of cancer.

For help quitting, visit smokefree.gov or call 1 (800) QUIT-NOW (784-8669), or text “QUIT” to 47848. It’s never too late to quit!

2. Stay Away from Secondhand Smoke

Smoke from other people’s cigarettes, pipes, or cigars is called secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in adults who have never smoked. People who have never smoked but are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of getting lung cancer by 20% to 30%.

3. Get Your Home Tested for Radon

Are you at risk for Radon?

Radon is a gas that you cannot smell, taste, or see. It comes naturally from rocks and soil and can dissolve in groundwater. Radon is thought to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year.  People can be exposed to radon mainly from breathing radon in air that comes through cracks and gaps in the foundation of buildings and homes. One out of 15 homes has a high level of radon. Testing your home is the only way to find out if you have a radon problem. If you do, then you can fix it.

Is Lung Cancer Screening Right for You?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends yearly lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT scan) for people who—

• Have a 20 pack-year or more smoking history, and
• Smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years, and
• Are between 50 and 80 years old.

A pack-year is smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for one year. For example, a person could have a 20 pack-year history by smoking one pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years.

Vapes/E-cigarettes

Vapes can contain many harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray. Some of the hazardous substances found in vaping liquids and the aerosol mist are known to cause damage to human cells and DNA and can cause cancer.

Vapes can also contain nicotine making them addictive.

Vapes can expose young people to chemicals and toxins at levels that can cause negative health effects and increase the risk of depression and anxiety.

What are E-cigarettes?

• E-cigarettes are electronic devices that heat a liquid and produce an aerosol or mix of small particles in the air.
• E-cigarettes come in many shapes and sizes. Most have a battery, a heating element, and a place to hold a liquid.
• Some e-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items. Larger devices such as tank systems, or “mods,” do not look like other tobacco products.
• E-cigarettes are known by many different names. They are sometimes called “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” “vape pens,” “vapes,” “tank systems,” and “electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).”

How Do E-cigarettes Work?

• E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals that help to make the aerosol.
• The liquid used in e-cigarettes often contains nicotine and flavorings. This liquid is sometimes called “e-juice,” “e-liquid,” “vape juice,” or “vape liquid.”
• Users inhale e-cigarette aerosol into their lungs. Bystanders can also breathe in this aerosol when the user exhales it into the air.
• E-cigarette devices can be used to deliver marijuana and other drugs.

Please talk with your healthcare provider if you need help quitting any tobacco products.  Key point is it is never too late to quit.  

Leslie Batty, NP

References:

www.cdc.gov