PALO, Leyte – The world is celebrating the whole month of November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

It started in 1995 as Lung Cancer Awareness Day. As the lung cancer community and the lung cancer movement grew, the awareness activities increased and the day matured into Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

This year’s celebration carried a theme “I Am and I Will”. The theme is an empowering call for personal commitment that represents the power of our actions taken now to reduce the growing impact of lung cancer.

During the month, people throughout the country come together to support the lung cancer community and raise awareness about the disease.

Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. These abnormal cells do not carry out the functions of normal lung cells and do not develop into healthy lung tissue. As they grow, the abnormal cells can form tumors and interfere with the functioning of the lung, which provides oxygen to the body via the blood.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women and accounts for about 27% of all cancer related deaths said the American Cancer Society. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.

In the Philippines, cancer is the third leading cause of death, or almost 10 percent of all deaths. Lung cancer is the most common form of cancer.

Moreover, the latest data published in 2018 lung cancer death in Philippines reached 10,894 or 1.79% of total deaths according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The age adjusted Death Rate is 15.82 per 100,000 of population and the Phippines ranks #76 in the world, the WHO added.

Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer.

Exposure to secondhand smoke also increases the risk of developing the disease. Environmental exposures, such as radon, workplace toxins like asbestos, arsenic and air pollution, likewise increases the risk to lung cancer.

Meanwhile, the risk of lung cancer can be reduced by quitting smoking and by eliminating or reducing exposure to secondhand smoke and environmental and workplace risk factors.

Furthermore, lung cancer is treated in several ways, depending on the type of lung cancer and how far it has spread.

Treatment include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of these treatments. People with small cell lung cancer are usually treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Radiation therapy is use to treat lung cancer tumors painlessly and noninvasively. It uses powerful, high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing.

The treatment is delivered safely, does not involve surgery or require hospitalization, and only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Side effects are minimal, and are usually mild and manageable.

The celebration. seeks to provide opportunities for lung cancer education in the community. It also aims to raise awareness and combat the stigma of lung cancer. #NPC-CPD