Learn facts about lung cancer diagnosis, survival rates, and risk factors:

• Each year more than 220,000 Americans are newly diagnosed with lung cancer.
• Since 1987, more women have died each year from lung cancer than breast cancer.
• More people die from lung cancer than from breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer combined.
• The five-year survival rate for all stages of lung cancer combined is 15 percent. However, the survival rate is almost 50 percent when localized. New treatment approaches for localized lung cancer will improve these statistics.
• Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor in the development of lung cancer.
• Smoking in the teenage years causes permanent genetic changes in the lungs and forever increases the risk of lung cancer -- even if the smoker quits.

Learn more about lung cancer:

• Lung Cancer Symptoms
• Lung Cancer Risk Factors
• Lung Cancer Stages
• Types of Lung Cancer
• Frequently Asked Questions About Lung Cancer Screening