Number-One Cancer Killer Not What...(s when they smoke as a nation we do not ...),Health

Lung cancer accounts for 28 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States(1), and more Americans lose their lives to lung cancer annually than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined. The foundation is saddened to report that two of the four storytellers who participated in the Code Blue for Lung Cancer Campaign, Susan DeWitt, Wayne Greer and Joseph Vincent, recently lost their long struggles with lung cancer. This news further underscores the need for continued research and awareness about prevention and treatment of this disease.

Eighty-five percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer are current or former smokers, whom many perceive as having had the power to avoid a lung cancer diagnosis if only they had been able to quit. However, research shows two things: that nicotine is highly addictive, and that while 70 percent of smokers want to quit, many lack the tools and resources to quit for good.

When considering patients with lung cancer, many Americans treat them with a "you should have known better" attitude, which fails to acknowledge the young age at which most smokers start and the highly addictive nature of nicotine, said Healton. "Lung cancer takes a huge social and economic burden on our country each year," she said. "We need to be more supportive of smokers trying to quit, more empathetic to people and families suffering from lung cancer, and more vigilant in ensuring more research and funding is devoted to lung cancer."

Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush, echo these words in public service announcements he appeared in for Code Blue. Former President Bush's message says: "Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It's a national tragedy killing thousands each year, leaving behind devastated families. Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer. If you or
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