Lung Cancer :O

Lung cancer used to be the most common malignancy in the United States but has dropped to number three behind prostate and breast cancers respectively. Each year approximately 173,800 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer and approximately 160,440 will die of their cancer. In Iowa, there will be about 2,000 new cases of lung cancer each year. At Mercy Medical Center, 251 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed in 2004. Those 251 cases are the subject of this report.

At one time lung cancer used to be seen predominantly in men. However, as women began to smoke in increasing numbers, the incidence of lung cancer in women has risen significantly. At Mercy Medical Center, 45 percent of the 2004 cases were women compared to 34 percent in 1997.