Lung Cancer Awareness Month

In the United States, lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women. Overall, it is the leading cause of cancer death and accounts for 1 in 4 cancer deaths.

Smoking raises the risk for lung cancer and is by far the leading cause of lung cancer. However, other factors such as exposure to other chemicals and genetic changes can cause lung cancer. About 20% of the people who die from lung cancer have never smoked or used other forms of tobacco and some people get lung cancer although they don’t have any known risk factors.

The American Cancer Society takes a comprehensive approach to combating lung cancer by funding research to improve ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose, and treat lung cancer; providing news and information to patients, their families, and their caregivers; sharing Stories of Hope to help people and their families cope with the disease; offering lodging options for patients receiving treatment far from home and transportation services to and from treatment; advocating for public policies and support for patients facing a lung cancer diagnosis; offering tobacco cessation information; and convening the National Lung Cancer Roundtable to help address the burden of lung cancer. Learn more about how the American Cancer Society fights lung cancer.