Exposed
Small cell carcinoma of the lung is relatively rare (20 percent of all cancers) and is almost exclusively attributed to smoking (99 percent of cases). But I have treated two women who never smoked, yet both have small cell carcinoma. One of the women played bingo regularly. The other woman’s husband and daughter both smoked.
The common denominator? Exposure to secondhand smoke.
A Patient Story
Betty Funk loves her bingo. Loves her bingo, as she would say. And her love of the game, typically played in smoky fire halls, may have caused her lung cancer. Betty never smoked. But if you ask her, she believes that all those years inhaling other people’s smoke gave her cancer.
Since her diagnosis in 2003, Betty’s endured chemotherapy and radiation to treat the cancer that spread to her breast and her brain. And through it all, she’s devoted much of her time and energy to help making Pennsylvania smoke-free as a volunteer with the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Valley.
Betty notes that while more and more public gathering places are prohibiting smoking indoors, many fire halls are reluctant to do it for fear they’ll lose revenue from their regular bingo players. But she points out that her regular “place” has gone smoke-free, and they’ve added more players.
“I still love my bingo, but I’d love a smoke-free Pennsylvania even more,” she adds.
Some statistics:
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Your risk of lung cancer doubles if you are exposed to smoke for 25 smoker years (smoking indoors)
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17 percent of lung cancer cases in nonsmokers are due to secondhand smoke exposure in childhood.
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Since 1986, the relative risk of lung cancer in nonsmokers has increased by 36 percent.