AN OUNCE OF PREVENTIONN IS WORTH A POUND
OF CURE
Regardless of these initiatives , our best option in dealing with cancer is prevention . Likewise, this is largely possible specifically in the case of lung cancer , whichh accounts for more than 25 % of all cancer diagnoses . We know that the first leading cause of lung cancer is smoking , although , since the early 1990s , a reduction in the numbers of adults who smoke by about 50 % has been achieved
, with another 68 % reduction in smokers among youth .
The second leading cause of lung cancer is exposuree to radon , the naturally occurring radioactive gas that concentrates in buildings beyond their outdoor levels and accounts for approximately
3.5 % of all annual deaths caused by cancer . Through the effect of differential indoor and outdoor temperatures and pressuress ( otherwisee known as a “ chimney effect”), radon is largely drawn into our homes from underlying rock and soil through cracks and unsealed penetrations in slabs and foundations . The
U . S . EPA has published maps of affected
U . S . geologies ( and areas ) that may obtain radon levels above the 4.0 pCi / L action level , which affects roughly
1 in every 15 homes in the U . S .