Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers that occur globally.
Even though the exact cause of a person’s lung cancer may not be completely known, certain risk factors are strongly linked to the disease, especially smoking tobacco. Exposure to certain chemicals, gases, and pollutants contributes to increasing the risk of developing lung cancer.
Though lung cancer is commonly associated with smoking, there has been a noticeable rise in the rates of the disease among non-smokers (especially women).
No one knows if or when lung cancer will develop, but understanding risk factors can reduce the likelihood of disease. Along with smoking, certain factors might contribute to the development of lung cancer.
Causes of Lung Cancer
- Second-Hand Smoke – Your presence in the room of people smoking puts you at a similar risk of developing lung cancer by up to 30%.
- Air Pollution – Air pollution contains dust, exhaust, chemicals, and much more which are dangerously harmful to the lungs. Bad air quality as a whole is a major problem because of the sheer number of people who have to breathe it.
- Family History – If someone in your family has lung cancer, you may be more likely to get it yourself. It’s not clear if that’s due to genetics or because family members often live where causes like secondhand smoke, radon, and other things are in play.
- Radiation – Radiation therapy is extremely strong. Doctors use high doses of it to kill cancer cells through radiation therapy. But despite all the good it can do, this treatment is considered the root cause of developing secondary cancers.
- Eating Habits – A high-carbohydrate diet, which leads to high blood sugar and insulin resistance, has been associated with lung cancer. Eat fewer foods that are high on the glycemic index and you might keep lung cancer far away.
In a recent interview, a chest surgeon from New Delhi Hospital said that he rarely sees healthy pink lungs these days due to high levels of air pollution in the air we all breathe.
What shocked and scared him, even more, was that he witnessed children as young as 14-16, with no history of active or passive smoking, with black deposits on their lungs. Even one 2018 study found that 50% of lung cancer patients in North India are now non-smokers – and that more than 21% of patients were below the age of 50. Various pollutants in the air not only damage the lungs, but every organ in our body, including the heart, blood vessels, brain, pancreas, kidneys, urinary bladder, and even reproductive organs.