Jump to full article: NSTP e-Media (my), 2008-05-23
Intro: The number of lung cancer cases has gone up from 2,256 in 2002 to more than 3,000 last year, and the cause has fallen squarely on cigarette smoking.
Almost 70 per cent of the smokers were in the third and fourth stage of the disease when they came in for treatment, Institute of Respiratory Medicine (IRM) director Datin Dr Aziah Ahmad Mahayiddin said.
She said even with the best treatment, their survival rate was slim. . . .
The risk of getting lung cancer for Chinese males is one in 20 and that for Malays and Indians is one in 40.
Dr Aziah said IRM, which saw at least two new lung cancer patients every week, was also seeing younger men detected with the disease.
A few years ago, it only saw lung cancer patients aged 60 and above but in the past two years, it had been treating patients aged 45 and above.
Tobacco smoke is the primary cause of lung cancer.
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