Lung cancer hits non smokers also

Stuff reports:

Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

In an email to trade union colleagues last night, Kelly said she would be undergoing additional tests to determine the prognosis.

Hopefully it has been detected at Stage 1 where the prognosis is a lot better than at later stages. If you get diagnosed at Stage 1 the one year survival rate is 70% while at Stage 4 it is 15%.

I hope Helen is able to have successful treatment, and continue her strong advocacy for many years to come.

Family confirmed Kelly was not a smoker and had never smoked.

Around 15% of people with lung cancer have never smoked. This is why it is important even  non smokers get a check up of they have symptoms such as a persistent cough.

There is a an excellent publication on lung cancer at Pfizer, for those who want more information. Curia did some of the research for it.