Did you know that lung cancer rates among women are increasing at a rate of two per cent every year?
Lung cancer is also the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women comprising 18 per cent of cancer deaths in women and 23 per cent of cancer deaths in men during the period 2011-2012.
The Irish Cancer Society has developed an Online Lung Health Checker to help people find out if their lungs are in a healthy condition. It’s available here and takes just five minutes to complete.
The Online Lung Health Checker also provides users with a printable letter which they can bring along to their doctor to help explain any symptoms.
Kevin O’Hagan, Cancer Prevention Manager at the Irish Cancer Society said: “Lung health needs to be taken seriously – we need Irish people to start talking about it and to consider it important enough to take action.”
He continued: “Lung cancer can be treated once it is diagnosed at an early stage but unfortunately too many people don’t go to their doctor at a time when it would be most beneficial for them.”
“We need doctors and pharmacists to keep lung cancer front of mind and to encourage their patients to maintain good lung health. When it comes to lung cancer, awareness and early detection are the key to survival.”
To coincide with the launch of the Online Lung Health Checker, the Irish Cancer Society has released a new piece of research into lung cancer in Ireland.
The study has found that over a third of Irish adults who are currently experiencing three or more symptoms of lung cancer are unconcerned about the disease.
The research also reveals a number of barriers when it comes to the early detection of lung cancer which in turn can impact on survival rates and may be behind why the majority of lung cancer cases in Ireland continue to be diagnosed at a late stage. This includes a lack of awareness about the severity of the disease with half of adults unable to identify lung cancer as the leading cancer killer and a third of the public unconcerned to be experiencing three or more symptoms of lung cancer.
Lung health is rarely spoken of with 76 per cent of adults reporting that they have never had a conversation with their doctor or pharmacist on the topic.
Further to this, 54 per cent of adults cited obstacles to going to their doctor about lung health due to fear (22%), expense (17%) and because they don’t think it is serious enough (19%). Almost a quarter of adults (22%) and a third of smokers (32%) also said they would not go to their doctor as they would be afraid of what they would be told.
If you’re concerned about cancer, you can contact the Irish Cancer Society’s Cancer Nurseline on 1800 200 700 to speak to a specialist cancer nurse who can offer information, advice and support.
