Shahin Bepari Lambe
Panaji
Lung cancer should no longer be seen only as a disease of elderly male smokers, said doctors in Goa, who said they are seeing cases in a wider range of patients, including women, lifelong non-smokers and younger adults.
“We are seeing more lung cancer patients than before because better tests have improved diagnosis. There is a misconception that only smokers get lung cancer. We are also finding lung cancer in women, lifelong non-smokers and younger people,” said Dr Shekhar Salkar, Senior Consultant – Surgical Oncology and former President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Goa State.
He said early lung cancer often has few or no symptoms, and by the time symptoms like breathlessness, chest pain, coughing up blood or weight loss appear, the disease may already be in an advanced stage.
Some patients seek treatment only after persistent coughs are mistaken for minor infections, allergies or tuberculosis.
“Earlier, women accounted for around 10 per cent of lung cancer cases, but today they make up nearly 40 per cent. Passive smoking, air pollution and other environmental factors may be contributing to this trend, although more research is needed,” said Dr Ashwini Collaco, Consultant – Pulmonology. Collaco said while tobacco smoking causes most lung cancer cases, second-hand smoke also increases the risk. “The safest choice is to avoid both smoking and vaping. Quitting tobacco at any age lowers the risk of lung cancer and makes a significant difference,”
said Collaco
Dr Afshan Shaik, MD, DNB Pulmonary Medicine, DM Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Victor Hospital, Margao, said that most patients are between 60 and 69 years, but there are cases also seen among those in their 30s and 40s.
“Many reach us only at an advanced stage because a persistent cough is ignored or mistaken for an infection, allergy or tuberculosis,” said Shaik.
Shaik said that timely consultation with a pulmonologist, CT-based imaging when needed, quitting tobacco, avoiding second- and third-hand smoke, reducing exposure to air pollution and workplace dust, and Low-Dose CT screening for high-risk people can improve the chances of early diagnosis and successful treatment.
“Lung cancer should no longer be seen only as a disease of elderly male smokers. Reducing its burden in Goa will require public awareness, strict tobacco control, early detection tools and education, especially among young people,” said Salkar.
