Growing research and treatments have changed the landscape of lung cancer management, however a strong stigma remains, mostly due to the disease’s link to cigarette smoking.
Sunshine Coast Health’s lung cancer care team said this stigma and deeply rooted misconceptions about the illness can have a damaging impact for patients and families, as well asthose who might wrongly think they’re not at risk.
So for this year’s Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the team joined forces to tackle some of the biggest myths:
Myth 1: Only people who smoke get lung cancer
While many cases can be caused by cigarette smoking, there are many patients who have never smoked. Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer, so it’s not just a disease of smokers.
The smoking stigma can be very damaging for both lung cancer patients who have smoked, and those who haven’t.
“I’ve heard from previous patients that often when they get diagnosed with lung cancer and tell other family or friends that, sometimes their response is, rather than being empathetic to the lung cancer diagnosis, they basically get asked ‘I didn’t know you smoke or used to smoke’, and this can be quite psychologically damaging,” said Oncology Nurse Practitioner Cassandra Mazza.
“It’s up to us as a community – no one deserves a diagnosis of cancer, so it really doesn’t matter if someone has smoked or not smoked, it’s really about being empathetic to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.”
The misconception can also make non-smokers less likely to respond to symptoms or be checked, because they don’t realise they’re at risk.
Myth 2: All lung cancers are the same
This is one of the biggest myths the team see. There are actually multiple different types of lung cancer, and they all have different options for treatments. So it’s important patients see the appropriate specialist. This also means it’s important to remember each person’s story and experience can be vastly different.
Myth 3: Lung cancer only affects older people
It can be easier for younger people to assume they’re not at risk, but the team said they do see lung cancer in younger people. It’s important for everyone to have an awareness they could possibly be impacted by lung cancer, so that they do seek medical attention if they do notice symptoms.
Myth 4: You’re only at risk if you have an unexplained cough
Symptoms don’t usually present until the cancer has progressed or developed, so it’s really important for people to be proactive with annual health checks, rather than relying on noticing those stereotypical symptoms.
Some people don’t show any symptoms, and many don’t have a cough. Other things to see your GP and get checked for include: coughing up blood, unintentional weight loss and increasing shortness of breath.