Understanding Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer : Overview

According to the American Cancer Society, this year nearly 175,000 Americans will learn they have lung cancer. This accounts for about 12 percent of cancer diagnoses.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer found in both men and women.

Types of Lung Cancer

• Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer. The most common forms of non-small cell lung cancer are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.
• Small cell lung cancer is less common than non-small cell lung cancer and looks different when examined under a microscope. In the past, small cell lung cancer was often called oat cell cancer.

Both types of lung cancer can spread to other parts of the body.

Smoking is responsible for 87 percent of all lung cancer cases in the United
States. Eliminating tobacco use is the key to reducing the impact of this
disease.