Lung cancer's "hidden victims"

Submitted by Minuteman on Sat, 2011-12-03 02:17

Article here. Excerpt:

'More than 32,000 Americans who never lit up will die each year, with women at higher risk, experts say.
...
In fact, experts say, one in every five cases of the leading cancer killer occurs in nonsmokers. The annual death toll among this group now approaches that of breast cancer (about 40,000 per year) and is roughly equal to that of prostate cancer (32,000). Many never-smoking women may also be unaware that they are more than twice as likely to die of lung cancer as they are of ovarian cancer (14,000 deaths per year).
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"Among never-smokers with lung cancer, women outnumber men two-to-one," Wenger said.

According to experts at the LCRF, the reasons for the disparity aren't clear, but early research is suggesting that, much like breast tumors, lung tumor aggressiveness in women appears linked to estrogen.'

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Remember that males in the US are more likely than females to die from cancer overall, and males are more likely to die from lung cancer. Articles like the one above from the Dept of HHS always try to play down male vulnerability and promote the idea that women need the resources and attention. You see it with articles about depression and suicide, heart disease, autism, and other health concerns. The linked article below discusses the higher male mortality rate regarding cancer.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/2078088/cancer_mortality_rates_are_higher_in_men_than_women/index.html

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Submitted by gregory on Mon, 2011-12-05 03:17