About 70,880 American women will die from lung cancer this year. Lung cancer kills more women than cancers of the breast, uterus and ovaries combined. If you're a woman who smokes, your chances of dying from lung cancer are 20 times greater than if you don't smoke. Studies show that women get lung cancer earlier and with less exposure to smoke than men. In fact, two-thirds of nonsmokers with lung cancer are women.

Women are affected differently

Lung cancer kills more people than any other cancer. It's most common among men, but women are catching up. Lung cancer rates among men have become lower over the years, but the rates among women have grown. If a woman smokes fewer cigarettes and inhales less smoke than a man, she is still 1.5 times more likely to get lung cancer than he is.

Between 1950 and 1987, lung cancer deaths in women grew by more than 600 percent. The reason? More women began smoking.

Men and women appear to have different risk factors for lung cancer. Women respond better to treatment and live longer than men who are in the same stage. Women also seem to get different types of lung cancer. They often develop adenocarcinoma, the most common type. This type of cancer is less related to smoking and is most often seen in young people, women and people who have never smoked.

Men are more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma, which has more symptoms. These symptoms make it easier to detect.

Causes of lung cancer

Smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. Switching to light or low-tar cigarettes doesn't make a difference. Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 nonsmoker deaths from lung cancer each year. Being exposed to radon, asbestos, air pollution and various chemicals can also cause lung cancer.

Because of the connection to smoking, funding for lung cancer research is very low. From 1992 to 2004, breast cancer received more than $1.6 billion in funding. Lung cancer received only $33 million.

Symptoms

Unfortunately, early-stage lung cancer often has no symptoms. Symptoms of lung cancer (usually more advanced) include:

• Chronic cough
• Hoarseness
• Wheezing
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Blood in the sputum
• Recurring pneumonia and bronchitis
• Weight loss
• Fatigue

Lung cancer facts

• Black women are more at risk than white women.
• Eighty-five percent of those with lung cancer die from it.
• Few reliable screening tests are presently available for early detection.
• New treatments have doubled the cure rate over the last 30 years.
• When caught early, most lung cancers can be cured.

Related Articles What Are the Risk Factors for Developing Lung Cancer?

External Sources American Cancer Society Harvard Medical School Northwestern University

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.