Why Lung Cancer Is Particularly Common Among Non-Smokers in Asian Populations
A few notes on things I didn’t know before.
1. Based on general clinical experience, a cough lasting less than two weeks is likely infectious. Between two weeks and two months, it’s often a self-limiting post-infectious response. But once a cough persists beyond two months, it becomes much more complicated. For Asians—China specifically—even nonsmokers should undergo early lung cancer screening, at least once by age 50, or as early as 45 if there’s a family history. In Taiwan, among nonsmokers, lung cancer still accounts for 2%. Globally, nonsmoking lung cancer patients make up as many as 30% of all lung cancer cases, and the average age at diagnosis for nonsmokers is around 50—about 20 years earlier than the typical age for smokers, who are usually diagnosed around 70.
2. I have fairly severe gastroesophageal reflux. I can feel myself about to vomit, and I get a burning sensation in my throat and in my nose and mouth from stomach acid. Meanwhile, gastric cancer has a remarkably high incidence across Asian populations.
3. Noticeable symptoms of cancer include unexplained weight loss and unusual fatigue.
4. Even when you enter chemotherapy, besides the high cost of medications that can financially crush a family, the treatment itself is incredibly harsh. The side effects spiral endlessly in a vicious cycle. People I know chose to jump off buildings rather than endure the suffering—they took their own lives.
Why would someone who never smoked get lung cancer? Why is this type of lung cancer so much more common in Asian populations? I’m pointing directly at China.
Please remember to get screened early. And keep in mind: CT scans shouldn’t be done too frequently—once every six months at most.