Washington leads country in new lung cancer cases, report shows
By Mo Haider, KOMO News Staff
Tuesday, Nov 14th 2023
Image showing x-ray of a person’s lungs during a lung cancer screening. (Photo: American Lung Association)
WASHINGTON — In a recent study, the American Lung Association reports lung cancer is leading cause of cancer deaths not only here in Washington but across the nation. The organization reports Washington is 13 out of 48 in the nation for rate of new lung cancer cases at 49.7 per 100,000. Many factors contribute to those numbers.
“Tobacco use is one of them. there are certain parts of Washington state that there are high radon areas. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer,” said Carrie Nyssen, Senior Dir. of Advocacy for the American Lung Association in Washington. Environmental reasons are also believed to play a factor.
“We’ve got air pollution and air toxins, that there’s a lot of in-door air quality air issues. In the summer months, we often have wildfire smoke and particle pollution is very toxic to our lungs,” said Nyssen.
The same study shows that out of 47 states, Washington is ranked 23rd for early diagnosis and 27th for lack of treatment. The organization also said its best to get screened as early as possible especially for anyone that’s considered high risk.
“If you’re between 50-80 years of age, if you have a twenty-pack year history of smoking, which means you’ve smoked one pack of cigarettes a day for twenty years or two packs for ten years,” said Nyssen. Even if you aren’t high risk, it’s best to keep yourself safe.
“Know your air quality. I’d like to let everyone care about their air. If there’s poor air quality outside, don’t send your kids outside to play. don’t choose that day to be your marathon training for your next run,” said Nyssen.