Non-Smokers: These Lung Cancer Risks & Symptoms Apply To You, Too

If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, stop. The advice about preventing lung cancer, although well-meaning, is often linked to smoking. But what if you’ve never smoked? Being a non-smoker doesn’t automatically clear you from risk of lung cancer.

While tobacco usage is one of the many factors that can lead to the disease, the truth is that nearly 20 percent  of people who die from lung cancer in the U.S. annually don’t smoke or use any form of tobacco, according to the American Cancer Society.

“It’s true that the majority of people with lung cancer have some history of tobacco use,” Andrea, McKee, MD, a Lung Association spokesperson told Health.com. “Having said that, 15% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer have no history of tobacco use — and they may be quite young.”

McKee states that lung cancer is highly curable when diagnosed early.  Below are risk factors and symptoms that smokers and non-smokers alike should know.

Risk Factors

Personal or family history of lung cancer

If you’ve had lung cancer, you have a greater risk of developing another lung cancer. Also, a strong family history of the disease (brothers, sisters, and children of people who have had lung cancer) is linked to increased risk, researchers say.

Carcinogens in the workplace

In recent years, the government has taken steps to better protect workers from exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). If you’re exposed to the following, you are putting yourself at risk:

• Radioactive ores like uranium.
• Chemicals such as arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, silica, vinyl chloride, nickel compounds, chromium compounds, coal products, mustard gas, and chloromethyl ethers can prove to be lethal if inhaled.
• Diesel exhaust.
• Asbestos (exposure is common among mine workers as well as people who work on shipyards and where insulation is used).

Secondhand smoke

Breathing in the smoke of others can increase your risk of developing lung cancer. In fact, secondhand smoke is thought to account for more than 7,000 deaths from lung cancer each year.

 Symptoms

Body aches and muscle soreness

You may experience chest pains, severe, dull pain in your shoulders, or soreness and weakness in your bones. Over time, this aching pain can worsen, especially at night.

Persistent cough

We’re not talking an allergy induced cough attack, but a persistent cough. If your cough lingers or several weeks, it can be an early sign of lung cancer. During the latter stages, sufferers have also been known to cough up blood or mucus.

Difficulty swallowing

Gagging on your food? Lung cancer can make it difficult to swallow as well as create a feeling that something is caught in your throat. This can point to inflammation of the esophagus, also known as dysphagia – a fatal warning sign as patients who display this symptom are at an increased risk of dying.

Respiratory illness

Persistent respiratory diseases like bronchitis or pneumonia can be a sign of malignant tumors in your lungs.

Unexpected weight loss

Though losing 10-pounds here or gaining 10-pounds there is totally normal, a sudden drop in weight should never be ignored, experts say. An unusual drop in body mass, accompanied by a lack of energy is often associated with a serious health condition, including lung cancer.

If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, stop. The advice about preventing lung cancer, although well-meaning, is often linked to smoking. But what if you’ve never smoked? Being a non-smoker doesn’t automatically clear you from risk of lung cancer.

While tobacco usage is one of the many factors that can lead to the disease, the truth is that nearly 20 percent  of people who die from lung cancer in the U.S. annually don’t smoke or use any form of tobacco, according to the American Cancer Society.

“It’s true that the majority of people with lung cancer have some history of tobacco use,” Andrea, McKee, MD, a Lung Association spokesperson told Health.com. “Having said that, 15% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer have no history of tobacco use — and they may be quite young.”

McKee states that lung cancer is highly curable when diagnosed early.  Below are risk factors and symptoms that smokers and non-smokers alike should know.

Risk Factors

Personal or family history of lung cancer

If you’ve had lung cancer, you have a greater risk of developing another lung cancer. Also, a strong family history of the disease (brothers, sisters, and children of people who have had lung cancer) is linked to increased risk, researchers say.

Carcinogens in the workplace

In recent years, the government has taken steps to better protect workers from exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). If you’re exposed to the following, you are putting yourself at risk:

• Radioactive ores like uranium.
• Chemicals such as arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, silica, vinyl chloride, nickel compounds, chromium compounds, coal products, mustard gas, and chloromethyl ethers can prove to be lethal if inhaled.
• Diesel exhaust.
• Asbestos (exposure is common among mine workers as well as people who work on shipyards and where insulation is used).

Secondhand smoke

Breathing in the smoke of others can increase your risk of developing lung cancer. In fact, secondhand smoke is thought to account for more than 7,000 deaths from lung cancer each year.

 Symptoms

Body aches and muscle soreness

You may experience chest pains, severe, dull pain in your shoulders, or soreness and weakness in your bones. Over time, this aching pain can worsen, especially at night.

Persistent cough

We’re not talking an allergy induced cough attack, but a persistent cough. If your cough lingers or several weeks, it can be an early sign of lung cancer. During the latter stages, sufferers have also been known to cough up blood or mucus.

Difficulty swallowing

Gagging on your food? Lung cancer can make it difficult to swallow as well as create a feeling that something is caught in your throat. This can point to inflammation of the esophagus, also known as dysphagia – a fatal warning sign as patients who display this symptom are at an increased risk of dying.

Respiratory illness

Persistent respiratory diseases like bronchitis or pneumonia can be a sign of malignant tumors in your lungs.

Unexpected weight loss

Though losing 10-pounds here or gaining 10-pounds there is totally normal, a sudden drop in weight should never be ignored, experts say. An unusual drop in body mass, accompanied by a lack of energy is often associated with a serious health condition, including lung cancer.