Table of Contents
- What is Lung Cancer?
- What Symptoms Does Lung Cancer Cause?
- What are the Chances of Recovery from Lung Cancer?
- How Common is Lung Cancer?
- What Risk Factors Promote Lung Cancer?
- Susan Wojcicki died of lung cancer. Why is this disease so deadly?
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki passed away on Friday at the age of 56, as announced by her husband in a Facebook post. Wojcicki had lung cancer. Around 56,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in Germany each year, making it one of the most common malignant diseases in the country, according to the German Cancer Society. An overview:
What is Lung Cancer?
Various malignant tumors can develop in the lung tissue. Bronchial carcinomas are the most common type of lung cancer and belong to the so-called solid tumors. These are tissue overgrowths that originate from an organ or tissue and initially only grow at that location. If the disease progresses, such tumors can spread throughout the body, forming metastases.
What Symptoms Does Lung Cancer Cause?
If the tumor in the lung is small and the disease is still in an early stage, patients usually do not have any symptoms. This is because the lung itself does not have pain fibers or nerves. However, symptoms and signs can occur later in the course of the disease. Some symptoms can also be caused by other diseases. Symptoms that may indicate lung cancer and should be clarified by a doctor:
- Cough lasting several weeks (that persists despite treatment)
- Suddenly changing cough that has lasted for weeks
- Shortness of breath at rest or with light activity
- Chest pain
- Coughing up blood or sputum
- Unexplained weight loss
- General feeling of illness
What are the Chances of Recovery from Lung Cancer?
In general, the earlier lung cancer is detected, the better the chances of recovery. However, it is often only discovered at an advanced stage, leading to many deaths: More than 44,800 people die from lung cancer in Germany each year, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Men are more likely to die from this type of cancer than women.
How Common is Lung Cancer?
In Germany, lung cancer is the most common malignant tumor disease in men after prostate cancer. In women, it is the third most common type of cancer after breast and colon cancer.
When doctors diagnose lung cancer, women are on average 69 years old and men are 70. Although the number of people diagnosed with lung cancer is increasing, this is partly due to the increased life expectancy of the population. When adjusted for age, the number of men diagnosed with lung cancer has been slightly decreasing in recent years, while the number of women has been increasing. Experts attribute this to changes in smoking behavior, with more women smoking and fewer men over the decades, according to the German Cancer Research Center.
What Risk Factors Promote Lung Cancer?
Smoking, also tobacco consumption, is the main risk factor for lung cancer. In men, up to nine out of ten cases, and in women, at least six out of ten, are attributed to smoking, according to the Robert Koch Institute. This is because inhaled cigarette smoke contains numerous carcinogenic substances, such as polycyclic and heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or N-Nitrosamines.
The risk of a smoker developing lung cancer depends, of course, on the duration and frequency of smoking. Those who smoke frequently and have done so since their youth have a particularly high risk of developing lung cancer. "Life-long smoking increases the risk of lung cancer in men by 24 times compared to lifelong non-smokers," the German Cancer Society informs.
Even those who do not smoke themselves but are regularly exposed to cigarette smoke have an increased risk of disease. "It is estimated that people who are regularly exposed to passive cigarette smoke at work or in their private lives have a 1.3-fold (for adenocarcinomas) to 3-fold (for small-cell lung cancer) increased risk of lung cancer," the German Cancer Society reports.
Carcinogenic substances such as formaldehyde or acetaldehyde are also found in the vapor of e-cigarets. In addition to smoking, air pollution and genes can also play a role in the development of lung cancer.
Even people who do not smoke can develop lung cancer. According to a 2020 US study, 12 out of 100 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients had never smoked. It is known that lung cancer in non-smokers occurs more frequently in women and at a younger age than in smokers. Why this is the case still needs to be researched. A specific mutation is suspected. Two young non-smoking women spoke to the stern about their lung cancer.
The persistent cough that Wojcicki experienced before her passing could have been a symptom of her lung cancer. Despite the treatment, the cough persisted, indicating the advancement of the disease.
Despite never smoking, a significant number of people are diagnosed with lung cancer. According to a 2020 US study, 12 out of 100 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients had no smoking history.
