United Kingdom Lung Cancer Coalition

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The facts

> Lung cancer is the UK’s biggest cancer killer1- but it can be cured if diagnosed early enough1

> It kills more people in this country than breast cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and leukaemia combined2

> Around 34,500 people die from lung cancer in the UK every year1

> The disease accounts for one in 14 (7%) of all deaths in the UK1

> Lung cancer accounts for one in six of all cancer cases and one in four of all cancer deaths3

> Currently you are four times more likely to survive lung cancer is some parts of the country than others4

> One in eight people with lung cancer have never smoked a cigarette5

> A quarter of people with lung cancer in England (25%) will live for a year and less than one in ten (7% in England) are still alive five years after diagnosis6

> More women die from lung cancer than breast cancer1

> Half of all people in the UK know someone that has died or been affected by lung cancer8

> Average five year survival in the UK is an 8.95 percent [England (8.6%), Scotland (8.0%), N Ireland (10.2%) and Wales (9.0%] compared to 12.3% average in Europe8 and a 15 percent average in the United States9

> In addition to smoking. passive smoking (second-hand smoking), exposure to radon gas, asbestos and other chemicals, together with diet and family history can all increase the risk of developing the disease10

References:

      1. Figures from Cancer Research UK, available at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/mortality/

      2. Figures from Cancer Research UK, available at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/mortality/cancerdeaths/?a=5441

      3. Cancer Atlas of UK and Ireland, 2005. Chapter 13, p139

      4. http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/nhsperformanceindicators/2002/hacals_d.html

      5. Peto, R et al. Mortality from smoking in developed countries 1950-2000 2004

      6. Figures from Cancer Research UK, available at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/survival/#source3

      7. GfK NOP Telebus. 30 Sept-2 Oct 2005

      8. Survival for eight major cancers and all cancers combined for European adults diagnosed in 1995–99: results of the EUROCARE-4 study Franco Berrino, Roberta De Angelis, Milena Sant, Stefano Rosso, Magdalena The Lancet Oncology, Volume 8, Issue 9, Pages 752 - 753, September 2007

      9. Ries LAG, Eisner MP, Kosary CL, et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2001. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2004

      10. Figures from Cancer Research UK, available at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/riskfactors/

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