Lung cancer deadly, especially for women

Delaware health officials recently released an annual report tracking the number of cancer cases and cancer deaths statewide.

The report compares 1998-2002 statistics with statistics gathered from 2008 to 2012 – and there’s plenty of good news.

Over the decade between reports, Delaware’s cancer death rate declined 14 percent, matching the decline nationwide. Still, Delaware’s cancer death rate remains 5.8 percent higher than the nation’s. With widespread screening, statewide breast cancer deaths declined 22.3 percent over the last decade. Colorectal cancer screenings increased, while deaths, especially among African-Americans, have dramatically declined.

It’s when the report turns to lung cancer that the statistics turn bleak. Alarmingly bleak.

In Delaware, lung cancer accounted for 30 percent of all cancer deaths from 2008-2012. That’s nearly one in three cancer deaths.

Delaware women are especially at risk: The death rate for Delaware women ranked fifth in the nation, and worse, the incidence of lung cancer among Delaware women increased 6.5 percent while nationwide, that rate declined nearly 4 percent. National statistics show tobacco use causes 85 percent to 90 percent of lung cancers. Even so, in Delaware, for the past four years, the number of adult smokers is stuck at 19.6 percent. Among teens, cigarette smoking is at an all-time low, but health officials say that does not include the 40 percent of teens who have tried e-cigarettes, or vaping.  Despite debate over how bad vaping is, it’s clear people who vape inhale cancer-causing chemicals. In 2012, only 2.1 percent of high school students said they were using e-cigarettes. In 2015, just three years later, that number soared to 23.5 percent. Nearly one in four high school students is regularly inhaling cancer-causing chemicals. Young people may not see those around them dying of lung cancer. Sadly, that doesn’t mean they won’t see death come far too early for those who smoke or vape. Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot may well bring the nation closer to curing cancer. Still, each of us can help prevent cancer deaths by eating a healthy diet, exercising and refusing to smoke cigarettes, even e-cigarettes.